Perfection Does Not Exist
by AdrienStalkry
Summary: Future Perfect Prefect. Gryffindor Princess. Little Miss Know-It-All. That's who everyone thinks Hermione Granger is but they're wrong. There's a reason that Harry and Hermione have always gotten along and it has nothing to do with a troll but it's a secret only Hermione knows... At least it was until a certain black dog got hit by a car out front of her house.
1. There's No Place Like Home

**Hey guys! Long time no see! Cheesy greeting, I know. I hope you guys like this little plot bunny that jumped into my head a few days ago and I'd love to hear what you have to say (even if you didn't like it and you just want to tell me it sucks). Just so you know, this will be a bit different from my usual stories. I don't know where I'm going or a set plot, I'm just going wherever the story takes me, and I don't have set days for when I will be posting (though I do promise to post at least once a week).**

 **I also wanted to let you know a couple things:**

 **-Prisoner of Azkaban never happened. Yes, Sirius did escape but things happened that prevented him from getting to Harry.**

 **-Because no one found out about Remus (besides Hermione), he did not quit and will be teaching at Hogwarts for their 4th year.**

 **-Harry's situation with the Dursely's is much worst than in the book, he's in a horribly abusive house hold.**

 **-Hermione's home situation is similar to Harry's.**

 **-There will be mentions of abuse (obviously) and rape in this story though I haven't decided how graphic I will get. I promise to place warnings if it becomes graphic so that you can avoid those bits if that makes you uncomfortable.**

 **-The Triwizard Tournament will take place.**

 **-This is a Harmione fic.**

 **Have fun in the little world I've written.**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **Disclaimer: This is not my sandbox no matter how much I love playing in it. This sandbox and all its inhabitants belong to the lovely J. K. Rowling.**

 **Chpt. 1: There's No Place Like Home**

Glass shatters downstairs and a sigh escapes Hermione's lips as her parent's loud voices shatter the peaceful silence she had managed to surround herself with as she slowly unpacked her trunk.

"I'm not even home an hour and they're already a it." Her voice is barely a whisper as her eyes slide cautiously to the door, silently wishing he hadn't taken the lock from her door the first time she had attempted to keep him away from her.

Softly stroking the H of the soft sweater Mrs. Weasley had sent her this year, she sets the top back into her half unpacked trunk and moves to her open window. Carefully popping out the screen and balancing it against one of the many bookshelves that line her walls, she slips out onto the roof outside her window that covers the garage of her parent's two story farm house. Hermione pulls her knees to her chest in an attempt to close the hole in her chest that opened every time she was forced to leave her safe haven.

A truck flies down her quiet street and a sickening thump snaps her chocolate gaze to the normally safe street. The truck's twilight fade into the distance but Hermione barely notices, her normally warm gaze filling with worry for the dark lump the car had hit without a care to if whatever it was had been hurt or not. Springing to her feet, Hermione quickly runs to the edge of her little roof and climbs down the grate her mother had had her father put up as a backdrop for the garden that lines the right side of their garage before sprinting toward the mass lying motionless in the street.

Tears well in her eyes as she takes in the large dog, struggling for breath as she kneels down beside him. "Don't worry buddy, I'm going to make sure you're ok."

The dog whines, his wolf pain filled eyes connecting with her gaze as she lifts the heavy dog into her arms.

"I know it hurts bud but I've got to get you somewhere safe." Her breath is labored as she struggles under the dog's weight.

The dog's head lifts as they approach her house, her parents' voices leaking out of the open window near the kitchen. He glances at the house and then back to her, a question seeming to radiate from his intelligent gaze as he opens his mouth as though he wants to make a noise.

"No." The young girl cuts off the dog before he can make a sound and her eyebrows shoot to her hairline when the dog immediately shuts his mouth as though he actually understands her. "We can't have them hearing you, they'd have you put down faster than you could bark and I don't particularly want that, do you?"

The dog snorts and shakes his head before resting it in the crook of Hermione's neck.

Her strained chuckle escapes the young girl's lips as she creeps along the side if the house by her window and into the shed next to the garage. She quietly pushes the door open with her foot and slips into the small building before gently setting the dog onto the old tarp lying in the far corner if the room. Hermione quickly moves away from the dog who watches her cautiously as she walks purposefully toward the other corner of the shed and pries up a corner of the metal wall no one would have never known was anymore loose than any other one of the walls. The dog snorts, drawing Hermione's attention back to him as she pulls a small white box from the space behind the metal wall. "You know, since you keep snuffling at me like that, I'm going to call you Snuffles." The dog seems to shoot her an incredulous look and the young girl laughs softly as she pulls the disinfectant from the small box and kneels down next the hurt creature once again. "It's your own fault, I probably would have given you a better name. If you hadn't kept looking at me so oddly... Now please try to keep quiet, this is going to sting." The dog whines softly as Hermione carefully cleans out his wounds and bandages him up. "I'll come back out after my parents go to work to check on your wounds and bring you into the house so I can take better care of you but you'll have to sleep here tonight buddy." Hermione carefully rises to her feet and places the first aid kit back behind the shed's metal wall before coming back to the animal watching her from the tarp. "I'll see you tomorrow, Snuffles." She softly scratches his he's before leaving the small building and closing the door behind her.

Sirius Black stares at the closed door long after the young girl has left him, a small smile tugging at his wolfish lips. It had been a long time since anyone had felt the need to show him kindness.

"Good morning, Snuffles." Hermione greets the dog still lying on the tarp she had placed him on the night before as she once again enters the shed. "Do you think you'll be able to walk today bud? I don't think I'd be able to carry you upstairs today, I'm a bit sore from yesterday." The young girl unconsciously rubs her side, the bottom of her shirt riding up just enough to show the dark purple bruise that hadn't been there the night before.

Snuffles rises to his feet, his eyes fixating on the mark as a growl escapes his lips.

Hermione's eyebrows shoot up, wondering why her new friend was suddenly so irritable, before her gaze follows his and she immediately pulls her shirt down. "It's nothing buddy. Don't worry about it. I've had much worse. Let's just focus on getting you upstairs and into my room so we can get you all mended up, alright?"

The dog snorts, his eyes narrowing at Hermione in what looks like disbelief. Hermione shakes her head because dogs can't look at you in disbelief. "Come on bud." She pats the side of her leg as she holds open the shed door for her new friend.

Snuffles slowly limps his way over to Hermione, stopping for a second to nuzzle her leg before exiting the shed and waiting for her to lead him the rest of the way into her house.

Hermione quickly closes the shed door before striding past the giant black dog and making her way to the back door of the house.

Snuffles limps after her, grinning up at her as he passes through the door she is holding open for him.

"Alright, bud, first things first: We've got to give you a bath," Hermione tells the dog as she closes the door.

Snuffles freezes, his smile dropping and laughter bubbles from Hermione's mouth.


	2. The First Letter

**Wow, two chapters in one day. I'm a bit on a roll. Thanks for bombarding my inbox you guys, I really appreciate it. Hope you guys like this chapter as much as you liked the first one. Don't forget to review! :o)**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **Disclaimer: This is not my sandbox no matter how much I love playing in it. This sandbox and all its inhabitants belong to the lovely J. K. Rowling.**

 **Chpt. 2: The First Letter**

"Snuffles!" The young girl shrieks, laughter spilling from her lips and melting away the stress that had no business being on her young face. Sirius grins down at the young girl whose name he still didn't know, glad to make her happy even if it is just for a moment. Maybe he can stay with her until the school year starts, make sure she's alright until then. It's not like he knows where Harry is staying over the summer. "Just let me rinse you off and then we can be done buddy."

* * *

Tap. Tap. Tap. Hermione looks up at the window from the book she had settled down on her bed with, a grin stretching across her face as she quickly shuts her book and scrambles off her small twin sized bed. She flings the window open and a beautiful snowy owl flutters in, landing softly on Hermione's shoulder and giving her ear a loving nip once Hermione had taken the letter from her claws. "Hello to you too, beautiful." Hedwig coos gently, nuzzling her face into Hermione's cheek. "I'm surprised to see you so soon. Harry never writes this early."

Hermione's eyebrows pull together in concern as she makes her way back to the bed, sitting down close to the end where Snuffles was watching her first out of curiosity and then out of concern. Well, as much curiosity and concern a dog can show that is. Hermione carefully flips the letter open and takes a deep breath before opening it:

 _Dear Hermione,_

 _I know I don't usually write you this early in the summer but I'm worried about you. Something didn't seem right when I saw you with your parents yesterday and I wanted to make sure that you were ok. You are ok right?_

 _With Love,_

 _Harry_

 _P.S. Can you make sure to feed Hedwig when she gets to you? Uncle Vernon took anything edible I had (including her food) at the same time he took my trunk this year because apparently I drew too much attention to myself when they picked me up at the station. I'll probably be sending her to you a lot for food because you know Ron never feeds her when she goes over to his house. I hope that's ok, I promise I'll pay you back for all the owl food. Maybe I can buy Crookshanks some food when we go shopping in Diagon Alley with Ron?_

A frown tugs at Hermione's lips as she sets the letter down on her bed and makes her way to her closet where she squats down and run her fingers along the bottom of the back wall until she finds the indent she is looking for. A small piece of walling pops out when she pries at the indent and she reaches into the small whole, pulling out a bag of feed before turning back to the two animals sitting on her bed. Hedwig doesn't look at all surprised by the small hole in her wall but Snuffles is staring at her in surprise.

"You have to be prepared for anything," she tells the dog, pouring a little bit of the feed into the seemingly decorative bowl on her nightstand before replacing both the bag and the piece of wall. "You two stay up here, I'm going to go downstairs and get some food to send over to Harry."

Hermione quickly makes her way down the stairs, glancing at the clock as she enters the kitchen. 5:01. Half an hour until her parents get home. Pulling open all the cabinets, Hermione starts pulling down things she can send to her best friend. Things that won't spoil within the first week. Crackers. Peanut butter. Canned chicken. Chips. Hermione shuts the cabinets, Hedwig won't be able to carry more than that, and makes her way back up the stairs. She pulls a spare sheet from the shelf at the top of her and sets it on her bed before placing all the food in the center of it. God, a box would have been so helpful to have. Grabbing a piece of parchment from her still half packed trunk, she quickly scrawls a letter to Harry.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _Everything's fine. I promise, nothing out of the ordinary here._

 _I fed Hedwig like you asked but I'm also sending some food for you back with her. It's not much but I didn't want to overload your poor bird. I don't actually have Crookshanks anymore. He didn't like my Father at all so my parents told me he had to go. I did get a new dog though! His name is Snuffles and he's a big sweetheart, I'm sure you'll like him._

 _Write back soon._

 _With Love,_

 _Hermione_

A sigh escapes Hermione's lips as she folds up the letter and places it on top of the small stack of food. She didn't exactly lie… This was normal for her and Crookshanks had hated her father. The cat had attacked him as soon as Hermione had let him out of his carrier and her father had thrown the cat across the room, killing him almost as soon as his small body had hit the wall… She really did hate keeping things from Harry though. Hermione ties the ends of the sheet together and holds the small parcel out for Hedwig to take. "Come on, girl. We've got to have you away from here before my parents get home."

The bird swoops by Hermione's head, nipping her ear gently and brushing her cheek softly before grabbing the small parcel in her claws and exiting the room.

Not even ten minutes later a car door slams outside and Hermione is ushering her new pet into her closet. "No matter what you hear, boy, you have to be quiet," she whispers, flinching slightly as the front door slams, before shutting her closet doors.

"HERMIONE!" The voice booms through the entire house as Hermione exits her bedroom, squaring her shoulders.

* * *

Sirius fights the urge to cover his ears as the man, mostly his new friend's father, continues to yell at Hermione: "WHY WEREN'T YOU HERE TO HELP ME WHEN I WALKED THROUGH THE DOOR?!" A crack pierces the air and Sirius tries to push his way out of the closet on instinct, not caring that she had told him to be quiet no matter what he heard. No one had the right to hit that sweet girl.


	3. Snuffles Meets The Weasleys

**Alrighty guys, I've just got a couple things to say before you start reading this chapter. First off, I forgot to mention earlier that I haven't read GoF in a long time and I don't have it with me here at school so this fic will mostly be based on the movies. Second, I wanted to know what you guys think of a Remus/Sirius relationship in this story? I'm leaning in that direction but it's still up for debate so let me know what you think. I hope you guys like this chapter.**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **P.S. I almost forgot that I'll be jumping forward in time a lot until we actually get into school so if something doesn't make sense, please let me know and I will try to explain it later. :o)**

 **Disclaimer: As always, I do not own this lovely sandbox or any of its inhabitants (though I wish I could say that I do). This box belongs to the amazing J. K. Rowling.**

 **Chpt. 3: Snuffles Meets The Weasley's**

A groan escapes Hermione's lips as her eyes flutter open only to squeeze them shut once again when she tries to stretch out her arms. Her whole body ached and the little skin she could see from where she was laying was more purple than ivory. "Looks like it's long sleeves for a couple weeks."

A soft whine reaches her right ear before a wet nose touches her cheek, closely followed by a slobbery kiss in the same place.

A smile stretches across Hermione's face despite the pain and she sits up to pull her dog into a gentle hug. "It's alright, buddy. Getting to keep you was worth it. And just think, we're off to the Weasley's today then we'll be headed to Hogwarts. We won't have to see them until Yule," she tells Snuffles softly so that no one else in the house will hear her. "I'm so glad Professor McGonagall was able to get me permission to have you come to school with me, I don't trust my Father not to hurt you while I'm away." Snuffles growls and Hermione laughs softly. "Or maybe you'd be the one to hurt him? Thank you for not going after him when you saw him hurting me by the way, I'm not sure what I would do if he hurt you. You've really helped me this summer buddy. Maybe once I'm able to transform into my animagus form, we can go for runs. My form's a wolf with the same shade of hair as you."

Snuffles grins up at her, yipping quietly as his tail wags behind him.

Hermione glances at the clock on her night stand and grins. 7:30. Just enough time to get ready for the day and head down stairs before Mr. Weasley was here to pick her up. She slowly rises from her bed, every bone in her body aching, and grabs the outfit she'd picked out last night after taking a shower and packing her bags.

* * *

Sirius Black can't help but watch as the young witch changes into her outfit for the day, a fury burning through his core that he hadn't felt since the day Lilly and James had died. Bruises of various colorings coated her body like some sort of sick mural. He'd wanted so badly to kill the sick fuck she called her father the first time he'd heard him hit Hermione but seeing the girl come up to her room hours later with barely contained tears had kept him from racing downstairs. She had needed his comfort more than he needed to hurt the man who had hurt her. It was the first time he'd ever actually put someone else before himself.

* * *

"Hermione!" Molly pulls the young girl into a hug the moment she steps foot into the Burrow.

"It's good to see you, Mrs. Weasley. Thank you for inviting me over." Hermione smiles at the older woman, hiding her wince as Snuffles leans into her leg in an attempt to comfort her.

"It's no trouble dear, we love having you." Molly doesn't have time to say anything else as her four youngest children come barreling down the stairs.

"Hermione!" All four surround her, crushing her in between their bodies and causing a muffled groan of pain to escape the young witch's lips.

Snuffles growls in warning at the four children crushing his pup and they immediately jump back, watching the dog with wary eyes.

"Sorry guys, he's just a little protective of me. He's actually very nice." Hermione gives her friends a reassuring smile as Snuffles nuzzles her hand and Hermione scratches the dog's head. "This is Snuffles. I found him outside of my house at the beginning of summer and Professor McGonagall gave me permission to bring him to school since I wasn't able to bring Crookshanks."

"Good riddance, if you ask me," Ron grumbles under his breath and Hermione shoots him a harsh glare as Snuffles growls in support.


	4. Another (More Human) Protector

**Hi again! Guess it's another 2 in 1 day post (even though this one's short even for these normally short chapters). :o) Here's a little H/Hr moment for those craving some Harmione. Don't forget to let me know what you think of a Sirius/Remus relationship!**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **Disclaimer: As always, I do not own this lovely sandbox or any of its inhabitants (though I wish I could say that I do). This box belongs to the amazing J. K. Rowling.**

 **Chpt. 4: Another (More Human) Protector**

"Mione?" The soft voice has Sirius jumping to his feet, a growl building in his throat before he realizes it's his Godson kneeling beside his pup's bed. Emerald eyes connect with his own and he lays back down at his pup's feet.

* * *

"Harry?" Hermione's voice is groggy with sleep and coated in confusion as she sits up to see her best friend. "What're you doing here?"

"I wanted to make sure you were alright. Every time I try to go to sleep, I just keep seeing the Death Eaters capturing you and hurting you the way they did the others. That could have been you Mione." Harry's voice cracks and tears pool in his eyes. "And I wasn't there to protect you."

Hermione pulls her best friend into an awkward hug, rubbing his back as his tears fall onto her neck. "I'm fine Harry and I will always be here for you. It will take more than a few Death Eaters to take me down. I'm not the brightest witch of our age for nothing."

A broken chuckle escapes Harry's throat and Hermione can feel him smiling from where he'd buried his face in her neck. "I guess you're right." A moment a silence passes before he pulls away, his familiar emerald gaze connecting with her comforting chocolate eyes. "Can I stay with you tonight?"

Hermione's eyes widen but the fear in Harry's eyes, fear for her, melts anything in her that would have objected. Especially knowing that Ginny had decided to spend the night with Bill and Charlie after they had all returned from the World Cup. "Sure." She smiles at Harry and scoots over, forcing Snuffles to move closer to the end of the bed as she did so.

"Thanks." Harry grins back, sliding in next to her and wrapping his arms around the young witch. "Good night, Mione."

"Goodnight, Harry," Hermione whispers back before resting her head on Harry's chest and closing her eyes.

* * *

Sirius waits for Hermione's breath to even out before laying his head back down and closing his eyes only for them to snap back open when a whisper reaches his ears:

"I'll always protect you, Hermione. I promise."


	5. When Harry Finds Out

**Here's the next chapter guys! I most likely won't be posting tomorrow since I have classes until five so hopefully this tides you over for a bit, I'm glad you're all liking it as much as you have been. I always love to hear what y'all have to say so don't forget to review... Oh! I almost forgot that it's looking like Remus and Sirius will be getting together in this fic considering I heard nothing but positives to having them be together. Hope you guys like this chapter!**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **Disclaimer: As always, I do not own this lovely sandbox that I love playing in so much. Said sandbox belongs to the amazing J. K. Rowling.**

 **Chpt. 5: When Harry Finds Out**

"We should change into our school robes, it won't be long before we reach the school," Hermione tells Harry as she closes her book and gently pushes her dog's head from her lap before rising from her seat, raising her hands above her head to stretch out her stiff muscles.

"Sure th—What the hell is that, Hermione?" Harry's serious tone snaps Hermione's attention to her best friend, all the color draining out of her face when she sees his gaze fixating on where her shirt had untucked from her skirt at some point during their train ride.

"It's nothing, Harry. Don't—." Harry's hand gripping her wrist stops her midsentence as his hand stops her from tucking her shirt back in and once again covering up her bruises. His calloused hands push her shirt up a little further, revealing even more bruises, before his molten gaze meets Hermione's own fierce glare. She hated not being in control.

"Don't lie to me, Hermione. What the hell is going on?" Harry doesn't flinch away from Hermione's icy glare like he normally would and that surprises her more than him finding out the secret she had tried so hard to hide but her pride keeps her from telling him the truth.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with." She yanks her wrist from Harry's grip and roughly tucks her shirt back into her skirt before turning to grab her robes from her trunk. She had never been more glad that Ron could seem to go twenty minutes without a snack than she was in that moment because she didn't know what she would have done if he had been there to see her bruises as well.

"We're best friends, Hermione. We're supposed to tell everything." Harry's voice is a mixture of fury and pain, like she'd somehow betrayed him, and that just adds to Hermione's own fire as she yanks on her robes and turns back to her supposed best friend.

"Because you've always been so honest about your home life." Harry flinches away from her icy tone, his eyes widening for a moment before flickering away from her knowing gaze.

The rattle of their compartment door saves Harry from answering Hermione as Ron returns, his arms full of snacks from the trolley. "What'd I miss?"

"Nothing," the two friends chime in unison, equally fake smiles plastered onto both of their faces.

* * *

Sirius passes the rest of the train ride with his mind stuck on his pup's response to Harry's questioning: "Because you've always been so honest about your home life." Did that mean that Harry's home life was like Hermione's? Was his godson not raised in the loving environment his parents had always meant for him to have? He should have ended up with Alice, why wasn't he? And if Alice couldn't take care of him, why didn't Remus? Sirius knew Remus was still alive, Hermione had told him earlier that Remus was teaching DADA to them at Hogwarts. That he'd taught both Harry and Hermione how to cast a Patronus last year when they'd placed dementors around Hogwarts in case he (mass murderer Sirius Black) attempted to get into the school to kill Harry. Sirius had been so proud of both his pups when Hermione told him that they had both succeeded in producing full corporal Patronuses by the time the year ended. Hermione had promised that she would show him her Patronus once they got to school considering she still had the trace on her wand and couldn't show him while she lived in a muggle household.

* * *

"Professor Lupin!" Hermione's entire face brightens when her eyes land on her favorite professor, all the irritation she had with Harry melting away as she sprinted toward him.

"Hello to you too, little cub." Remus smiles down at his favorite student as he catches her small frame in a tight hug. "You'd best head off to the Great Hall, I can hear Ron's stomach growling from over here and we'll have plenty of time to catch up tomorrow after classes."

"Ron's stomach is always growling, I don't know where he puts it all." Hermione pulls away from Remus, a wide grin stretching across her lips as she steps back in between her two best friends. Both boys now had wide smiles stretching their faces, any tension that had been hanging around from the train ride having melted away the moment they saw their best friend bolt toward their DADA teacher. "I can't wait to introduce you to my new pet, I'm sure he'll love you."

"I look forward to it, little cub."

The group of four broke apart as the Golden Trio entered the Great Hall and Professor Lupin went off to do whatever it was that had been keeping him outside the Great Hall. Hermione lead Harry and Ron toward the open seats Neville and Ginny had clearly saved for the three of them, grinning widely at her other friends as she sat down with Ron on left and Harry on her right.

Hermione silently hoped that their fourth year would be just as calm as their third year had been but the pit in her stomach told her that that was a useless wish.


	6. A Revelation

**Looks like another 2 in 1 day post (though this chapter's definitely longer than my usual ones for this story), those are kind of becoming a norm here. I hope you guys like it but let me know what you think either way!**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **Disclaimer: As always, this is not now (or will it probably ever be) my sandbox. The sandbox and it's inhabitants belong to the lovely J. K. Rowling. The pieces of the text** underlined like this **are also completely J. K. Rowling's because they are quoted directly from _Prisoner of Azkaban_ and I hold no creative right to them whatsoever. **

**Chpt. 6: A Revelation**

"Hermione?" The quiet query has Sirius once again jumping to his feet, a growl building in his throat before he realizes it's the young redhead that Hermione had been sharing a room with for the past few weeks. Sirius moves closer to the end of the bed as the smaller girl climbs into his pup's bed.

"Gin?" Hermione's voice is once again groggy with sleep but it's not coated in confusion like it was when Harry's voice had been the one to wake her up, she actually raises the corner of her blankets for the younger girl to slide in next to her before even continuing to question why she was there. Was this a normal thing for his pup, having people wake her up in the dead of the night? "Another nightmare?"

The redhead nods and tears begin streaming down her cheeks as Hermione wraps the younger girl in a tight hug, surprising the animagus. He'd never seen the young Weasley like this, she had always been so fiery and confident in front of everyone else. The only time she'd ever shown weakness was when she'd went up to sleep with her eldest brothers after the World Cup and that was more than understandable.

"Was it Voldemort again?" Hermione doesn't even pause on the name many adult wizards struggle to say which amazes the animagus watching the two girls carefully though it really shouldn't. His pup had more spine in her pinky than the entire Ministry combined. What did surprise him was the quiet sob that accompanied the flinch of the usually fiery redhead at the use of that name as she nods against Hermione's neck. "You have to know that he can only hurt you if you allow him to Ginny, you are so much stronger than you think and you have people who are willing to stand by you no matter what. You are my best girl friend Gin, nothing will happen to you while I'm around. I can promise you that."

A broken chuckle escapes Ginny's lips as she pulls away from Hermione, a wobbly smile on her lips. "And nothing will happen to you as long as Harry's around." Sirius watches his pup fondly as her whole expression softens and a gentle smile tugs at her lips. "Of course, without you, he and Ron wouldn't have survived past their first year and I would be dead in the Chamber of Secrets because they wouldn't have been able to figure out where the hell I had disappeared to or what had taken me in the first place."

Hermione's soft laughter fills the air and brings a smile to Sirius's lips as his pup smacks the Weasley girl with a pillow before both girls snuggle under the covers, a comfortable silence surrounding the three bedmates as they all begin to drift back to sleep.

"How are you so strong, Hermione?" Ginny's groggy voice breaks the silence after a few minutes, bringing Sirius's attention back to his pup whose breathing told him she was still awake but was hesitating to answer the question.

"I'm not," Hermione answers quietly after the other witch's breathing had completely evened out. Her words echo in Sirius's head long after his pup falls back asleep.

* * *

"Hi, buddy. How was your day?" Hermione greets Snuffles as she sets her bag down with a heavy thunk before scratching him behind his ears. "Classes went really well today, I'm really looking forward to continuing with Arithmancy this year especially considering we'll have the TriWizard Cup here for the majority of the year and Professor Vector told us we'd be able to study just how much its enchantments rely on Arithmancy. I can't wait for Ancient Runes tomorrow though, that's my favorite class. It's the closest thing Hogwarts has to learning a language and I have always loved learning languages. I'm fluent in French right now and I've been working on both Italian and Spanish. I've also be debating whether to learn Romanian or not since I would like to study dragons at some point and the majority of dragon reserves are in Romania. You're probably not interested in that though." She smiles sadly down at her dog for a moment. The only reason he ever listened to her was because he didn't understand her. If he did, he would zone out just like Ron. Neither of her best friends ever really listened to what she had to say when it came to things that didn't benefit them in some way. At least here she had friends though and they do love her even if they don't always listen to her. Shaking her head to clear away those thoughts, she shoots her pet a reassuring smile before going on. "It's going to be strange not having Professor Lupin teaching us DADA this year though. He's only teaching the first through third years this year, a new professor is teaching the fourth through seventh years and apparently he's teaching us all the same lessons. Fred and George had his class today and they said it was incredibly intense. I don't have him until Thursday and I'm a little worried. I ran into him on my way to Arithmancy today and there's just something about him that doesn't seem right. I just can't put my finger on it. There's no use in worrying about it though." Hermione grins down at Snuffles as she rises to her full height. "Come on, buddy. There's someone I want you to meet and Harry and I are going to visit him today."

Hermione rolls her eyes as she enters the Gryffindor common room, Snuffles right behind him, only to see her best friend sprawled across the love seat the two of them normally shared with Ron. Harry's hair was sticking out in every direction, not that that was unusual but it was worse than usual, almost like he'd stuck his finger into a light socket. His glasses were laying on his stomach while his right arm was draped across his face and his left arm was hanging off the couch. She hadn't even been in her dorm room for five minutes.

She squats down in front of Harry and Snuffles puts his face right next to her best friend's face. "I know you're not asleep, Harry. Get up." A grin tugs at Harry's lips but he doesn't move and Hermione has to fight her own grin as she rolls her eyes for the second time in as many minutes. One year without mortal danger and her best friend is suddenly a huge joker. "I can see you smiling, Harry James." Harry doesn't even attempt to hide his smile now and Snuffles snorts in what Hermione assumes is amusement at her best friend's actions. "I guess I'll just leave you to deal with Lavender and Pavarti when they come in from classes, they've been dying to talk to you ever since I told them about the Yule Ball that's been held every year that the TriWizard Tournament is held. After all, who wouldn't want to go with The-Boy-Who-Lived?"

Harry was on his feet faster than Hermione thought possible, a look of absolute horror on his face. "You didn't."

Hermione grins back at him. "You're right, I didn't tell them about it but there is a ball." Harry's face falls and Hermione's smile immediately softens. "Of course, it's not required unless you're an actual competitor and, considering you're under aged and uninterested, you won't have to worry about it."

Harry grins at his best friend as she takes his arm and the two of them make their way out of their common room with Snuffles right on their heels. "You, my brilliant friend, are quite evil."

"I've been told that's one of my best qualities." Hermione grins back and Harry laughs.

* * *

Sirius slows his pace as a familiar scent enters his airway but the expectant look on his pup's face keeps him from running away. It had been thirteen years since he had seen Remus and he honestly didn't know what to think. He'd wanted to have Pettigrew captured before this confrontation but it didn't look like his pup was going to give him much of a choice.

"Professor Lupin?" Hermione calls as the trio enters the room and Sirius scans the room for one of the few people he had left in this world.

"Come on back, Hermione! I'm just putting away some new books." Remus's voice sounds from an open door in the back corner of the classroom that Sirius can only assume leads to Remus's private quarters.

The trio makes their way toward the door, Harry and Hermione entering the room without hesitation while Sirius hesitates at the door. He could just make a run for it now and avoid the confrontation that is sure to happen.

"Snuffles? Come on, bud. It's alright, I promise Remus won't hurt you. He's very nice." His pup's sweet voice calls out to him and he knows he can't make a run for it, there's no way he can hurt that little girl.

Sirius takes a deep breath before entering the classroom with his head held high. His dark eyes connected with familiar amber eyes as they widened in recognition before narrowing in anger.

"Hermione, Harry. I need you to get behind me." Remus growled at the two teenagers as he steps in front of them, the glowing tip of his wand staring down at Sirius.

"Professor?" Sirius turns his attention to his pup, taking in her confusion and fear as his godson pushes her slightly behind him before Sirius takes a deep breath and begins to shift back into the form he hadn't taken in over a year. His pup's soft gasp pricks his heart painfully as she takes in his appearance, fear overtaking her confusion. "Snuffles?"

"Hermione, please—." Sirius takes a step toward her, only to be cut off by a very familiar voice.

"Don't take another step, Sirius," Remus growls, blocking Sirius's view of the two children. "I won't let you hurt them."

Sirius's hard gaze connects once more with Remus's. "I would never hurt them. If I had wanted to hurt them, I would have done it while I was staying with them at the Weasley's or after Hermione had mended me when I got hurt at the beginning of the summer."

Remus's wand begins to lower and Sirius begins to relax only to have his attention drawn to another wand pointed at him, this time by his godson.

"WOULDN'T HURT US? YOU KILLED MY PARENTS. YOU WERE THEIR FRIEND, THEY TRUSTED YOU TO KEEP THEM SAFE, AND YOU GOT THEM KILLED! YOU'RE NOT GETTING HERMIONE TOO!"

"Harry… I as good as killed them," he croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me… I'm to blame, I know it… The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies… I realized what Peter must've done… what I'd done…" His voice broke. He turned away.

Sirius's godson opened his mouth with a spell no doubt about to leak out, the tip of his wand burning even more brightly from where it was still pointed at him, when a smaller hand covered Harry's and pushed the wand back to his side.

"Harry… I think we need to hear him out," His pup's voice was soft, clearly meaning for only Harry to hear her and not taking into account the two adults with enhanced hearing that were also in the room. Harry's eyes connected with Hermione's for a long moment before he nods and relaxes his stance.

Sirius watches his pup take a deep breath and square her shoulders before walking out in front of both Remus and Harry, ignoring the looks she received in two separate attempts to keep her as close to the other two males as possible.

"Er — Mr. Black — Sirius?" said Hermione.

A fond smile quirks at his lips as he stares down at the girl who had taken care of him for monthes now, warmth filling his being when he sees her eyes soften as they connect with his. He really hadn't seen anything quite like her before.

"If you don't mind me asking, how — how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"

"I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the dementors couldn't suck it out of me… but it kept me sane and knowing who I am… helped me keep my powers… so when it all became… too much… I could transform in my cell… become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know…" He swallowed. "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions… They could tell that my feelings were less — less human, less complex when I was a dog… but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away without a wand…" [Sirius took a deep breath before continuing,] "But then I saw Peter in that picture [the one from when the Weasleys won that trip to Egypt last year]… I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry… perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again… ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies… and to deliver the last Potter to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honors… So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive…"

Harry remembered what Mr. Weasley had told Mrs. Weasley. "The guards say he's been talking in his sleep… always the same words… 'He's at Hogwarts.'"

"It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the dementors couldn't destroy it… It wasn't a happy feeling… it was an obsession… but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog… It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused… I was thin, very thin… thin enough to slip through the bars… I swam as a dog back to the mainland… But halfway to Hogwarts I was snatched by a dog catcher and placed into a pound. By the time I had managed to escape, I'd been placed in two other pounds and honestly had no idea where I was or what month it was… And then I was hit by this huge metal monstrosity and Hermione here nursed me back to health… I had no idea that she was Harry's friend at first or that she was even a witch. I just knew that she was the first kind person I'd seen in years and that she needed someone to look after her… So I decided to stay with her until Hogwarts started up so that I would know exactly where both Harry and Pettigrew would be… I was ecstatic when I found out she was not only a witch but friends with both Harry and Ron… It made both helping her and protecting Harry that much easier… Only when we got to the Weasley's, Pettigrew had already escaped. Months earlier."

Sirius's eyes stayed connected with Hermione's his entire speech. Hers was the only opinion that mattered to him… Which surprised him considering who the two other people in the room were… But she was his pup, she was all that mattered in that moment.

"Please believe me."

Hermione's eyes probed Sirius's for a few tense moments before she finally replied: "I do."


	7. Confrontation

**Here's the next chapter guys! I know for a fact I'm going to lose at least one follower because of the Remus/Sirius scene in this chapter (contrary to what some of you may think, I do look at your guys' profiles when I get the alert saying I have a new follower/favorite) but let me know what you guys think even if you're one of the people who hate it. :o) I hope the majority of you like it!**

 **Disclaimer: As always, this is not now (or will it probably ever be) my sandbox. The sandbox and it's inhabitants belong to the lovely J. K. Rowling.**

 **Chpt. 7: Confrontations**

"HOW CAN YOU JUST BELIEVE HIM?!"

Hermione jumps slightly before turning around to face her best friend, attempting to stomp out the fury burning in her stomach at his tone of voice. Yelling back wouldn't help the situation. "Because it makes sense, Harry. If he really wanted to, he could have killed me at any time this summer. And if he had really wanted to kill you, he had plenty of chances before coming to Hogwarts. Instead, he has been nothing but comforting and helpful. Why would he go out of his way to be so nice when he could have left at any moment?"

"That's my point! Why now?! Why does he suddenly care now?! Why not thirteen years ago or five years ago?! Why does he only show up now that Voldemort is back?!" Hermione watches confusion war with anger and hurt in her best friend's emerald eyes and all of her fury disappears. This isn't about her… at least not entirely. This is about Sirius abandoning Harry, about losing the closest thing Harry could have had to a family.

Hermione steps forward, wrapping her arms tightly around her best friend in an attempt to comfort him. Harry buries his face in Hermione's neck and she almost immediately feels her skin dampen as a few tears leak out for the family he never got the chance to have. "I think those are questions you need to ask him," she whispers in his ear but she doesn't let go of him.

She feels Harry nod against her neck but it's a few more minutes before he takes a deep breath and pulls away from her to face his godfather, his right arm remaining around her waist though Hermione isn't sure if it's more for her comfort or his. Harry takes another deep breath as he meets his godfather's gaze. "Why now?" His voice is low, dangerously so, and it occurs to Hermione for the first time that his voice is much lower than it had been in their third year.

The breath Sirius takes is a lot more wobbly than the breath Harry had just taken and Hermione can't help but feel a twinge of concern for the man. Snuffles had been extremely skinny when she had found him and, even though she had made sure he had gained as much weight as safely possible the past few months, he was still well under average in that department. Something that was much more noticeable on the man than the dog. His skin being a pasty, almost sickly, shade of white and his stance clearly unsteady as he stood in front of them. His voice was (unsurprisingly) hoarse as he began to speak:

"There's really no good excuse for why I wasn't there, Harry… I was selfish and impulsive. I felt like I was invincible… That night when I got to the house, James and Lily were already dead. Hagrid had managed to beat me there somehow and he was holding you, he told me Dumbledore had sent him to bring you to him and that I wasn't to go anywhere near you… I could have fought for you, I should have fought for you, but I was so angry… I wanted to go after Peter and letting Hagrid take you to Dumbledore gave me that opportunity so I gave Hagrid my bike and told him to get you to Dumbledore safely… I didn't plan on leaving you permanently, I was just going to take care of Peter and then come back for you… You were my responsibility and I didn't plan on letting Dumbledore take you away from me… That's where things went screwy... I found Peter but he killed twelve muggles and then cut off his finger to frame me before I even noticed what was going on and then the Auroras were on me and I was in Azkaban without any sort of trial… It took me a long time to figure out that my animagus form wasn't as effected by dementors as my human form and by that point I had lost any drive I had to escape… I didn't have the drive to really do anything except wallow in self-pity… Until the day I saw that picture and I just knew that I had to protect you and you heard me tell you the rest of the story."

Harry stares at Sirius for a long moment before looking down at Hermione once again. "Can we go now?" His voice cracks and Hermione nods.

The two teens make their way out of the room, the door loudly slamming behind them before they hear Remus's voice:

"I think you should stay here, Padfoot."

Hermione and Harry continue down the corridor, his arm still wrapped tightly around her waist but both of them unsure of what to stay.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" Harry's soft voice breaks the silence minutes later.

* * *

The silence drowns Sirius for a few moments before his grey eyes connect with familiar green eyes, "Hello, Moony." He inwardly flinches, what the hell kind of greeting was that?

Remus's eyes flash to amber. "Is that really how you want to start this conversation, Sirius?"

Sirius shrugs, avoiding Remus's eyes once again.

"Fine, I'll decide where we start then," Remus growls. "What do you want with Hermione?"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Sirius growls back, his gaze hardening as he glares into Remus's still amber eyes. "I told you I would never hurt her."

"That doesn't explain why you have stayed with her as long as you have."

Sirius hadn't realized that either of them had moved until that moment when Remus was staring down at him with guarded amber eyes, their chests almost brushing as they stood toe to toe. "I wanted to protect her."

A fierce growl rips through Remus's chest and Sirius attempts to take a step back but Remus doesn't give him a chance as he grips the other man's robes, pulling him close. "Protect her from what?"

Sirius's wide eyes widen even further when it finally clicks in his head just why Remus is so concerned with Hermione. "She's a part of your pack isn't she?"

Remus's amber eyes snap back to green before avoiding the other man's gaze and letting go of Sirius as he steps back. "Yes."

Sirius doesn't let Remus get far as steps toward the werewolf, one of his hands gripping Remus's robes as the other forces the werewolf's gaze to once again meet his. "Am I still a part of your pack?"

"Yes." The word is barely more than a growl.

"Good." Sirius closes the distance between the two lovers, his lips connecting Remus's for the first time in thirteen years.

* * *

"Where's your head, Mione?" Harry murmurs softly to Hermione, even though Hermione had been sure to put up silencing charms around his bed so that none of his roommates would know she was there, as he wraps one of her unruly curls around his finger.

"I think you should give him a chance," she whispers back, ignoring the way he stiffens under her for a moment as she uses her finger to doodle random designs over his heart.

"Why are you so hell bent on me forgiving him?"

Hermione pushes herself up so that she can glare down at Harry. "Because he clearly cares about you, Harry, and you deserve to have someone who cares about you. You deserve to have a loving family."

Harry's eyes soften as he smiles up at her. "I've got you, don't I?"

Hermione smiles softly back at him, ignoring the twinge of sorrow that tugs at her stomach at the thought of only ever being his sister. "That's different."

"I don't see how it is. I'd be dead without you, Mione. You've always been there, looking out for me. The way I see it, you're the only family I need."

A sigh escapes Hermione's lips as she settles back down on Harry's chest before an idea sparks in her head and a smirk tugs her lips. "You're right, I am always looking out for you. Which is why you should trust my advice and give Sirius a chance."

A chuckle rumbles through Harry's chest turning Hermione's smirk into a grin. "Turned that one back around on me didn't you?"

"I've got no idea what you could possibly mean, Harry."

"I'll talk to him on one condition: you come with me."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Harry."


	8. Building Bridges

**So fanfiction was being a butthead and kept telling me there were no reviews for chapter seven every time I looked even though I kept getting e-mails that said otherwise so if I didn't respond to your review, I'm sorry but the site was being difficult. I hope you guys like this chapter! I'd love to hear what you think.**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **P.S. I almost forgot that saekdk pointed out that Harry didn't know Voldemort was alive at this point in the actual books so I tried to explain that in this chapter but if it still doesn't make sense, feel free to ask. I promise I don't bite... much.**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own this sandbox in which I love to play. The amazing J. K. Rowling is the only one with that right.**

 **Chpt. 8: Building Bridges**

Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Sirius's fingers drum against the wooden table as he stares down at eh Daily Profit that had sat in front of him for the better part of an hour even though he hadn't made it past the front page.

"Would you just relax?" Remus finally snaps, slamming his book down on the coffee table in front of him and drawing Sirius's attention to him as he stride's around the couch and toward the small table Sirius had been sitting at for the majority of the day. "This isn't the first time you'll have been in the same room as Harry. Hermione told us that he was willing to give you a chance when she visited on Tuesday and he didn't bite your head off yesterday when he and Hermione visited so I doubt he will today. Besides, Hermione wants him to give you a chance so I doubt he will go against that."

Sirius nods, folding the paper as he sets in down on the table and turns his full attention to Remus. "I guess you're right."

"I usually am." Remus grins cheekily down at Sirius and Sirius has to fight the urge to roll his eyes.

Sirius opens his mouth to reply but is cut by his pup's voice: "Professor Lupin?"

"In the back, Hermione!" Remus calls back, giving Sirius a reassuring smile and a squeeze on the shoulder before the two teens enter his quarters.

"Hello Professor Lupin, Sirius," Hermione greets both men, a genuine smile stretching across her lips, as she and Harry enter the room.

"Hello little cub, Harry," Remus replies, shooting the girl a wide smile. "I didn't know you were coming today, little cub."

"I actually had something I wanted to talk to you about and I figured now would be a good time since Harry's going to be talking with Sirius." Hermione's smile is still pasted across her face but the worry flaring in her eyes makes concern grip Sirius's stomach.

"Any time's a good time for you, cub. You didn't have to wait until to come talk to me. Why don't we go into the classroom so Harry and Sirius can have my quarters?"

Sirius watches Hermione and Remus leave before turning his attention back to his godson. "Do you have any idea what that was about?"

"None at all," Harry replies too quickly, his eyes darting away from Sirius's gaze.

"You're a shit liar, Harry. Just like your father." A smile quirks at Sirius's lips as Harry's wide eyes meet his once again. Like a deer caught in the headlights.

Harry looks away again and changes the subject as he walks over to the couch Remus had been reading on earlier. "I'm really glad I only have Divination on Mondays this year even though it is a double class. I'm really starting to think I should have followed Hermione's lead last year and given it up. It's completely useless."

Sirius shakes his head, a fond smile stretching across his lips as he follows his godson to the couch. Just like his father.

* * *

Hermione walks into Remus's classroom, worrying her bottom lip in between her teeth as she makes her way toward the desk at the front of the classroom she always shares with either Harry or Neville. She tosses her bag on one of the chairs and sits on top of the desk, twisting to face Remus who was leaning against his desk at the front of the classroom and watching her with a concerned gaze.

She takes a deep breath, her eyebrows pulling closer together than most would assume possible as she finally lets go of her now slightly swollen bottom lip. "I'm worried about Harry."

If Remus is surprised, he doesn't show it on his face though he does pull himself on top of his own desk as though he knows they're going to be there for a while. "Why's that, cub?"

"I've had a bad feeling all year and Harry's comment the other day really made me think. Voldemort showed up our first year through Professor Quirrel and he possessed Ginny through his old journal in our second year but last year was completely silent. Then Harry starts having these weird dreams all summer and his scar has been hurting, he doesn't tell me because he doesn't want to worry me but I can tell it's been bugging him. We've been thinking about it and both Harry and I think that he's back, we just don't know how he's doing it. Once someone dies they're supposed to stay dead but somehow Voldemort keeps coming back. It's not just a coincidence, I know it's not. Harry tried to bring it up to Dumbledore but all Dumbledore did was brush him aside and tell him that he would understand when he was older. We can't afford to wait until he's older though, professor. This is happening right now, Voldemort is back. I believe Harry when he says that. We need to start preparing ourselves and we need to figure out exactly how he keeps coming back so that when we kill him this time that he stays dead." Hermione's breath is uneven by the time she finishes and didn't know she had been shaking until one of Remus's large hands covers her own, steadying it.

"What do you need me to do?" Her wide eyes snap to his, shock coursing through her body at his belief in her before quickly turning to suspicion as her gaze narrows. The pure sincerity in his gaze though makes Hermione's stance relax and a mischievous smile quirk on her lips.

"Teach us like you did last year. Only teach us how to defend as well as protect. That's where we'll start because that is what matters most right now. Harry and I will also be studying spells on our own and I'll be finishing my animagus training with Professor McGonagall—."

"You've been learning to become an animagus?" The disbelief in his voice is almost insulting.

"Since the end of last year. Though, I didn't get to do much more than complete my meditative state over the summer since we aren't supposed to use magic and I didn't want to risk the ministry finding out about my form. You never know how useful being unregistered could be."

"That's amazing little cub, what's your form?" The look of pride Remus shoots Hermione make Hermione's grin widen almost painfully.

"I'm a wolf." She waits for a moment, taking joy in the clearly shocked look on her favorite teacher's face before continuing: "But that doesn't really matter at the moment, Professor McGonagall has already promised to keep that training in between the two of us. She can feel the war coming and she wants me to have every advantage I can even if that means keeping what we are doing away from the Headmaster. Can I get the same promise from you?" Her gaze had become progressively more serious, a wary look steeling her eyes as she searches her favorite teacher's gaze for some sign that she can trust him.

"Of course you can. If what you're saying is true, which I have no doubt it is considering how much thought you and Harry have clearly put into this, then we need to be preparing you guys. Dumbledore has a knack for keeping information to himself and not wanting people to see the big picture. That hurt us in the last war and I'll be damned before I let it hurt us in this war." Remus's voice is almost a growl by the time he finishes speaking, his eyes now amber instead of green, and Hermione got the feeling that there was more to Remus's anger toward Dumbledore than what he had stated but that was something she would have to look into later.

"Then you should know that Harry and I have been looking into how exactly Voldemort could keep coming back. We've looked through the entire restricted section but have come up with nothing which leads me to believe that the magic is darker than anything Madam Pince would keep in our library. Do you have any idea where we could a hold of darker materials?"

Remus is silent for a few moments, leaning against the desk beside Hermione as he thinks. "Maybe but I would have to speak with Sirius first."

Hermione cocks her head to the side, curiosity sparking brightly in her eyes. "Why?"

"Sirius was originally from a long line of purebloods, all of which were had been sorted into Slytherin and all of whom were well versed in the Dark Arts. Even though he was disowned long before he finished Hogwarts, he'll most likely have a better idea of how to go about this than any of us would."

* * *

"Can I ask you something?" The openness in Harry's voice surprises Sirius, the last almost twenty minutes had been filled with stilted conversation that had never hit to close to home.

"Of course," Sirius replies almost instantly, his gaze focusing solely on his godson who was shifting uncomfortably on the couch. Almost like he didn't want to ask the question he was about to ask.

"When you were talking the other day, you kept saying that Hermione needed you. Why did she need you?" Harry's eyes stare directly into Sirius's as he asks the question and Sirius has to look away. That was the one question he couldn't answer.

"I think that's something you need to ask her yourself." His voice is quiet as his gaze slips back to his godson.

Harry runs his fingers roughly through his already messy hair, an irritated sigh escaping his lips. "I've tried but she doesn't want to talk about it."

Sirius is quiet for a moment before he asks his own set of questions. "Can I ask you something?" He waits for his godson to nod before continuing, "What did Hermione mean when she said that you hadn't been honest with your own home life that day on the train?"

"Nothing," Harry responds almost instantly as he looks anywhere but where Sirius is sitting on the couch.

A sad smile twitches across Sirius's lips as he watches is godson before he finally responds, "Maybe if you were honest with her, she would be honest with you. Being brave doesn't always mean being strong Harry, I think that's something both you and Hermione need to learn."


	9. Unforgivables

**Alrighty, this is definitely my longest chapter yet and it's got quite a bit of information in it. I should also mention that S.P.E.W is mentioned in this chapter and that if it wasn't mentioned this early in the actual book, we're just going to pretend it was. :o) I hope you guys like this chapter and I'd love to hear what you all have to say (as always).**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own this sandbox in which I love to play. The amazing J. K. Rowling is the only one with that right.**

 **Chpt. 9: Unforgivables**

"Where's your head, Mione?" Hermione's eyes snap up from the list she'd been staring at instead of looking through the tome lying abandoned on her lap, her fingers tracing over the fourth name signed up to support S.P.E.W (the only name besides her own that hadn't been signed in an attempt to shut her up), at the sound of her best friend's voice.

"I'm worried about Neville," Hermione responds, her eyebrows drawn together in concern.

Harry shrugs in return and irritation floods through Hermione as her eyes narrow dangerously. Harry doesn't notice this of course. "He seemed fine earlier when Ron and I were working on our Divination homework. He was reading some Herbology book Moody had given him."

"Just because someone seems fine doesn't mean they are." Hermione's voice is harsh as she gathers up her books, intent on finding Neville and seeing how he was doing for herself. "The curse clearly bothered him, Harry. You don't just react like that over nothing."

"Since when do you care about Neville so much, Hermione?" Harry blocks her path, suspicion swirling in his emerald orbs.

Hermione's eyes spark with barely contained power, the air around her almost crackling with energy. "I have always cared about Neville, Harry. He was my first friend and, unlike some people, he has never turned his back on me." Hermione shoulder checks Harry as she passes him and storms up the stairs to the boys' dormitory.

Harry doesn't follow her and Hermione feels a twinge of guilt, she hadn't meant to throw the fact that both Harry and Ron had abandoned her last year when she had reported the mysterious broom Harry had gotten after his own had been broken by the Whomping Willow. At the time, she had been so afraid that someone may have jinxed it that she didn't even think to talk it through with Harry before she reported it to Professor McGonagall. No one in Gryffindor had been happy with her when their Head of House had confiscated their Seeker's broom and no one had talked to her in the few weeks it had taken Professor McGonagall to determine the broom was safe…everyone except Neville that is. The boys, well Harry at least, had understood her reasons once they finally let her explain and had apologized for not giving her a chance to explain in the first place. She had forgiven them and it was a hit below the belt to throw that back in his face now.

Hermione shakes her head to clear away those thoughts and knocks on the fourth years' door. She would apologize to Harry later.

"Hi Hermione. Not that I'm not glad to see you are anything but what're you doing up here so late?" Neville's smile is genuine as he holds the door open a little wider so that Hermione can enter the empty dorm but the surprise is clearly written across his face.

"Thanks, Nev." Hermione smiles brightly at the chubby boy as he clears a number of papers and Herbology books from his bed so that she has a place to sit down. "I just wanted to see how you were doing? I was really worried about you after Professor Moody's lesson today." Trever XII (at least Hermione thought it was the twelfth, she honestly couldn't remember how many times she had replaced his toad when she'd found the previous dead somewhere in the castle after Neville had lost him, anymore but she really didn't want Neville to know his beloved pet had died...many times) hops toward Hermione, nudging her hand softly before nestling into her lap.

The smile fades from Neville's face as he reaches out to stroke Trevor's back. "I've been better. I didn't realize it would be so hard seeing that curse in action. I thought I could handle it but clearly I couldn't."

Hermione is quiet for a moment as she studies Neville's solemn face. "Can I ask why it was so hard for you, Neville?"

Neville's gaze snaps up to Hermione's and the long silence that follows almost makes Hermione think that she has pushed her friend too far but Neville begins speaking just as Hermione is about to open her mouth to retract her statement. "During the war with You-Know-Who, my parents fought against him with everything they had. They were both Aurors, partners both at work and in life, and they were damn good at what they did. You-Know-Who wanted them on his side but they rejected him three times before they found out that they were having me and they decided to go into hiding. They were safe for almost two years. I was just over a year old when their hiding place was found but I wasn't with them for some reason, my Gran refuses to tell me why until I'm older. They fought like hell, took down more than their fair share of Death Eaters, but they were outnumbered. They were captured and tortured for information by Bellatrix Lestrange but no matter how hard she pushed, they wouldn't give her what she wanted. They lost their minds to the torture. My father's been in a coma and my mother has resided in the mental ward at St. Mungos for the past thirteen years because of that woman." Neville takes a deep breath, his tear-filled eyes never leaving Hermione's as her hand squeezes his in comfort. "She used the Cruciatus Curse to torture them."

* * *

A knock at Remus's door startles Sirius and he freezes, praying whoever it is doesn't decide to come in as he shifts into his animagus form.

The knock sounds again, closely followed by a familiar voice. "Lupin? Are you in there? There's something I need to talk to you about," his godson's voice floats through the room.

Sirius transforms back into his human form before quickly striding to the door and cautiously pulling it open. "Sorry, Harry. It's just me here right now, Remus had a detention he had to run tonight. Is it something I could help you with?"

Harry nods, running his fingers through his unusually tangled hair as he strides through the door Sirius was holding open for him. He is quiet for a few moments as he paces in front of Sirius who sits on the couch, watching his frazzled godson in amusement.

"What's going on, pup?" Sirius questions and Harry freezes for a moment at the nickname before collapsing on the couch beside his godfather.

"I'm pretty sure I screwed up things with Hermione tonight," Harry mumbles but Sirius hears him perfectly clear and has to fight the smile trying to spread across his face. Harry really did remind him of James sometimes.

"I doubt you did, pup. That girl has a bigger heart than anyone I have ever met and she's probably already forgiven you for whatever stupid comment you made. Now, what happened exactly?"

"I was reading up on some defensive charms and Hermione was working on spew—."

"Spew?" Sirius cuts his godson off, curious over whatever his pup could be concocting with such a stupid name.

"It's a political group Hermione has created to support the welfare of house elves. She's made buttons and everything."

"Interesting… Has Hermione talked to the house elves here at Hogwarts?" Sirius continues questioning his godson who shakes his head in response. "I think you should take her down to the kitchens one night and have the elves explain their bonds to the wizarding community, she might be surprised with what she finds."

"I'll definitely do that if she gets over the fact that I basically acted like an ass tonight," Harry said, bringing Sirius back to the original topic. "Hermione and I were doing our own things in the common room tonight when I noticed that she had been staring at her list of supporters and completely ignoring the massive tomb on her lap so I asked her what was wrong and she told me that she was worried about Neville. Her worry surprised me, I hadn't realized that she was friends with him and I told her that… Apparently that was the wrong thing to say though because she got royally pissed off, I could feel her magic crackling in the air when she glared at me and said that Neville had been her first friend and, unlike some people, he had never turned his back on her." Sirius shoots his godson a questioning look but Harry answers before he can verbalize the question. "Last year, I got this new broom but there was no tag saying who it was from… I actually still don't know who got it for me but that's beside the point… Hermione immediately assumed the worst and turned the broom in to McGonagall without talking to me and I was pissed. I couldn't understand why she wouldn't just talk to me, why she didn't trust me enough to hear her out and trust her judgement. I would have handed over the broom myself if she had just talked to me but she didn't and I was hurt so I didn't talk to her. The rest of Gryffindor followed my lead apparently though I didn't realize that until everything was all over, I had just assumed that everyone else was acting normally. After all, it was my broom and they didn't have any reason to be mad. The only person who didn't follow the rest of the pack was Neville apparently. I thought she had forgiven me but it looks like I was wrong."

Sirius reaches out to his godson, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure she has forgiven you and that she feels extremely guilty for throwing that in your face. She was probably just defending Neville. If what you're saying about him is true about him being her first friend, she's probably just as protective of him as she is of you and we both know how protective she is of you." A smile tugs at Harry's lips and Sirius can't help but grin back. "I think you should sleep on it tonight, give her some time to cool down, and apologize to her tomorrow."

"I think you're right." Harry nods, rising to his feet. "Thank you, Sirius."

"Anytime, pup."

* * *

Hermione groggily blinks her eyes as someone carefully moves her over before snapping into a sitting position. She hadn't meant to fall asleep.

"Sorry." Harry's voice is quiet as he smiles at his friend apologetically. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's alright, I didn't mean to fall asleep." Hermione grins back for a moment before it falls from her face, an apologetic expression taking over. "I wanted to apologize for earlier. I shouldn't have thrown last year back in your face, especially when I forgave you as soon as you heard me out. You had every right to be angry with me and there really wasn't anything to forgive."

"I'm just sorry that everyone else decided to follow my lead when it had nothing to do with them. I would have done something about it if I had known." Harry smiles at her before pulling her against his chest in a tight hug.

"I know you would have." Hermione smiles against his neck, hugging him back just as tightly.

"I also wanted to apologize for how I reacted earlier, I was a right asshole."

"There's really nothing to forgive, Harry. I think we both just blew the entire situation out of proportion."

The two teens sat in silence, neither one willing to let go of the other, until Harry pulled them both into a sitting position and began to speak again, "There's something I want to talk to you about."

Hermione pulls back a little so her questioning gaze can meet Harry's completely serious stare though her arms remain lightly wrapped around her friend. "What is it, Harry?"

"You told me you didn't want to tell me about your home life because I was never completely open with my own and I know that was just an excuse but I want you to know that I trust you more than anyone in the world and I am so tired of hiding… I'm not doing this because I want you to tell me what's going on with you, not entirely at least, and I want you to know that I don't expect you to tell me anything after you hear what I have to say… I'm doing this because you're my best friend and I trust you more than I trust anyone else in the world. You're the most important person in my life and I would definitely be dead if it weren't for you." Harry takes a deep breath, smiling slightly at Hermione when he feels her arms tighten slightly around him in an attempt to show him that she wasn't going anywhere. "I know there's a lot you've probably assumed, you wouldn't send me food or take care of Hedwig without question during the summer if you didn't know something was up. You've probably heard Ron and the twins talk about the bars on my window when they came to get me for second year as well. But what I've never told anyone before, anyone who was actually willing to listen and believe me at least, is that I lived under the staircase in the Dursley's house for ten years before they moved me up into Dudley's second bedroom and the only reason they moved me into his second room with all his broken and abandoned toys was that they were trying to fool the owls. They were trying to keep me from getting my Hogwarts letter… My story starts before then though… Honestly, I don't really remember when it started. Vernon was always punishing me for my 'freakishness' but the older I got, the worst the punishments got. At first it was just a smack here and there but when I was six, I had a major outburst of magic and Vernon lost it. He threw me across the room and I hit my head on the wall, the next thing I remember is barely being able to open my swollen eyes as I woke up in my cupboard with bruises caking my entire body and an extremely tender rib cage. I tried to open my cupboard door but it was locked. They didn't let me out for three days. Beatings like that were normal after that and locking me in my cupboard was even more frequent. I tried to reach out to a teacher in my second year of school but she didn't believe me and when Vernon found out, he whipped me with one of his old belts until my back bled. I didn't try to reach out again after that but Vernon seemed the take up the position that he could beat the 'freakishness' out of me. I was never given anything that was actually mine and Dudley's massive hand-me-downs hid the bruises extremely well. My beatings didn't get any worst than that for a long time but things started to get worst after I returned from my second year. The Dursely's were not happy that I had lied about being able to use magic outside of school… I ended up in the hospital for two and a half weeks, that's why it took me so long to write to you… Then last summer, Vernon crushed my airway with his hands until I passed out. I couldn't talk for two weeks after that and the bruises didn't go away for almost a month. More beatings and food withdrawal happened during that time period of course but that was the worst of it." Harry's eyes never left Hermione's teary gaze. She didn't pity him though she wanted more than anything to protect him.

"We're going to figure out a way to get you out of there, Harry." Her voice is more determined than it had ever been before and the look in Harry's eyes tells her that he believes in her completely. The two teens once again fall into silence as they settle back down into the bed, Harry twirling one of her curls around his finger as Hermione listens to her best friend's heartbeat. At least ten minutes pass before Hermione finally breaks the silence, "I honestly don't remember much of my life outside of primary school and Hogwarts. I remember my father back handing me when I was five because I questioned how God could be real when there was so much science that proved otherwise. I remember my mother yanking me out of bed at nine in the morning one summer when I was seven, telling me that she wouldn't stand me just lazing around the house even though I could barely move because my body had been so bruised from the night before. I remember every time my father hit me for speaking out of turn or not doing something that he thought I should have. I remember trying to tell my mother and her telling me that she didn't believe me and that I was an ungrateful brat… But I have these massive holes in my memory, that I can't remember for the life of me…Though if I'm being honest, I've never tried as hard as I could. I've always figured that there was a reason I had blocked out parts of my childhood and that there are some things that are better left forgotten… Since I've come to Hogwarts, I haven't had any of those blank spots. I think it's because I'm here so often to be honest. I barely spend any time in that house during the year so I don't need to block anything out."

Tears stream down Hermione's cheeks as she buries her face in Harry's chest, clutching her best friend tightly, and she feels Harry's own tears seeping through her hair as he holds on to her just as tightly.


	10. Who Do You Trust?

**Here's the next chapter you guys!** **I wanted to apologize to the people who I told that I would be introducing the other school's this chapter because I forgot about this part and it gave me an opening to introduce the will concept (which one of you awesome viewers pointed out could be a way to free Sirius and will give me the opportunity to do some other things later that I wasn't sure how to tie in previously).** **I hope you like it but (as always) review even if you don't, I love hearing any feedback you've got for me. :o)**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **P.S. I posted a new HP story earlier today! It's called A Marauder's Daughter and will eventually be a Fremione fic. Here's the summary for those of you interested:** **At age seven Hermione was told to run by her mother, to run and not look back. Being who she is, she followed those directions to a T... Only she got lost...in the woods...on the night of a full moon. What happens when Remus finds her and doesn't kill her? What would her life be like if she were raised by a Marauder? How would it change her years at Hogwarts?**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own this sandbox in which I love to play. The amazing J. K. Rowling is the only one with that right. She also has complete creative right to the lines** underlined like this **because they came straight from _Goblet of Fire_.**

 **Chpt. 10: Who Do You Trust?**

"But you said that's illegal," Hermione speaks out as Proffessor Moody clears the desks away so that they can practice throwing off the Imperius Curse.

"Dumbledore wants you taught what it feels like," said Moody, his magical eye swiveling onto Hermione and fixing her with an eerie, unblinking stare. "If you'd rather learn the hard way — when someone's putting it on you so they can control you completely — fine by me. You're excused. Off you go." 

Hermione's eyes narrow at the professor, her back tensing in the same way it had when she'd punched Draco in the face last year. She was so sick of people treating her as though she were some invalid just because she liked to follow the rule, because she liked to be in control when she could. Professor Snape gave her enough hell in school, she didn't need it from Professor Moody as well. "I'd actually like to volunteer to go first, sir." Her voice is cold even to her own ears and she can feel everyone's attention on her now as they stare at her in shock. She had never been so rude to a teacher before.

Professor Moody's eyes narrow right back at Hermione but she doesn't flinch away which seems to surprise him. "Come on then." His voice is gruffer than usual as he jerks his head to the right, directing her to take the spot across from his.

Hermione makes her way to the spot, head held high as her magic thrums around her.

"Imperio!" It was the most wonderful feeling. [Hermione] felt a floating sensation as every thought and worry in [her] head was wiped gently away, leaving nothing but a vague, untraceable happiness. [She] stood there feeling immensely relaxed, only dimly aware of everyone watching [her]. And then [she] heard Mad-Eye Moody's voice, echoing in some distant chamber of [her] empty brain: Slap Longbottom… Slap Longbottom… Hermione began to raise her foot to make her way toward Neville before setting it back down. Why? Neville had always been good to her… Slap Longbottom… Hermione struggled against the voice, her body completely frozen. She wouldn't lose control to this jackass, she just had to figure out how... Slap Longbottom… This was a dark spell meant to take away your choices, your happiness. HAPPINESS… SLAP LONGBOTTOM!

Hermione pulls on her Patronus memory. Harry's emerald gaze sparkling with laughter as he smiles brightly down at her, holding out his hand to help her up from where she had slipped and fell when Ginny had convinced their group to ice-skating on Black Lake instead of going to Hogsmeade. The only issue was Hermione didn't know how to skate and had fallen on her ass the second she had stepped onto the ice. Ginny had doubled over with laughter almost immediately and Neville was clearly fighting a losing battle against his own laughter. Ron hadn't been there to make fun of her because he had had detention that day for she couldn't even remember what. It was the first time she was alright with not being in control and trusted those around her.

Hermione blinked and her eyes cleared as she turned her head toward Professor Moody, "No."

His eyes widen in surprise then narrow in anger for a moment before he plasters a smile across his face. "Very good, Granger. 10 points to Gryffindor. Now, who's next."

No one stepped forward so Professor Moody began to beckon students forward in turn and put the Imperius Curse upon them. [Hermione] watched as, one by one, [her] classmates did the most extraordinary things under its influence. Dean Thomas hopped three times around the room, singing the national anthem. Lavender Brown imitated a squirrel. Neville performed a series of quite astonishing gymnastics he would certainly not have been capable of in his normal state. Not one of them seemed to be able to fight off the curse, and each of them recovered only when Moody had removed it. 

"Potter," Moody growled, "you next." 

Harry moved forward into the middle of the classroom, into the space that Moody had cleared of desks. Moody raised his wand, pointed it at Harry, and said, "Imperio!" 

Hermione bit her bottom lip as she watched her friend bend slightly at his knees and then freeze for a few moments. She knew he could do it, he was more than strong enough. Another moment passes and he does a weird sort of jump that has him smashing into the table, a pained look flaring across his face as he comes out of his trance.

"Now, that's more like it! ...Look at that, you lot . . . Potter fought! He fought it, and he damn near beat it! We'll try that again, Potter, and the rest of you, pay attention — watch his eyes, that's where you see it — very good, Potter, very good indeed! They'll have trouble controlling you!"

Hermione glares at the older man as Professor Moody has Harry try four more times, getting more beat up each time, before finally letting out their class.

She waves Ron off to their next class as she waits for Harry, both of their bags slung across her shoulder. Harry limps his way over to her and she immediately wraps her free arm around his waist to help him walk. The two teens are silent as they exit the classroom and Hermione leads them down the hall.

"How did you break the curse so easily?" Harry finally breaks the silence.

"I thought about the memory I use to call on my Patronus," Hermione replies then continues when Harry shoots her a questioning look. "The Imperius Curse is a dark spell that is meant to take away your choices. By taking away your choices, it takes away your happiness much like how dementors are dark creatures whose only purpose is to drain you of every happy memory you have. Happiness drives dementors away through use of your Patronus so I thought that maybe happiness could ground me enough to throw off the Imperius Curse. Darkness can't be fought with dark emotions like anger or irritation or reluctance at what the caster wants you to do. To fight darkness, you need light. Happiness is what gives people drive, it is what keeps us fighting even when we feel like we can't fight anymore… Next time, and there will be a next time if I know Professor Moody the way I think I do, pull on your Patronus memory and you'll be able to throw it off."

"You're amazing, Hermione. I don't think I tell you that enough," Harry tells her after a moment, leaning over a bit so that he can drop a kiss on the top of her head.

* * *

Sirius's attention was pulled from the tome he was reading on wizarding law when two knocks sounded on Remus's door. "Professor Lupin?" His pup's voice sounded from the other side moments later and he immediately closed his book, his eyebrows pulled together in concern. She's supposed to be in class right now.

Remus was halfway to the door, his open book abandoned on the coffee table, before Sirius had even registered that Remus was no longer leaning against him on the couch. "What happened?" Remus asks as he ushers Sirius's clearly injured godson and his pup in before shutting and locking the door.

Sirius springs from his seat as Hermione helps Harry sit in the middle of the couch, both of them moving out of the way as Remus bustles over to Harry and begins waving his wand in intricate patterns above the younger man's body.

"We were practicing throwing off the Imperius Curse in DADA and Harry managed to fight it for a little bit on his first attempt so Professor Moody continued making him try, even though he got hurt every time he attempted to fight it, until he could completely throw it off. It took him four more tries after his first," Hermione tells them, her concerned gaze never leaving Harry.

Remus finishes healing Harry and Hermione visibly relaxes, dropping two bags that Sirius hadn't realized she was carrying onto the ground before sitting on the couch next to Harry and resting her head on his shoulder as she tosses her legs over his. Remus takes the seat of the other side of Harry and Sirius collapses into the rickety armchair closest to the two kids.

"Why are you reading up on wizarding law?" His pup's question breaks the silence the four of them had fallen into, her curious chocolate eye connecting with Sirius's eyes.

"I was trying to see if there was anything in here that could get me exonerated without having Pettigrew in hand. Specifically, if there was any law against imprisonment without trial."

Sirius watches his pup's gaze dull a bit as she pull her bottom lip in between her teeth, clearly running through everything she knew on wizarding law. Why she knew anything about wizarding law, he didn't know. But she wasn't the smartest with of her age for nothing. Her gaze sharpens suddenly and her attention turns toward Harry as she bite her lip a bit harder, like she wants to ask him something but isn't sure if she should. Which is odd for her.

His godson raises his eyebrows at her as though he's surprised she won't just ask him whatever it is going through her head. "What is it, Mione?"

"I just think it's strange… In every story I've heard and every description people give when they talk about your Mum, her brilliant mind is brought up in some way. Lilly was at the top of her graduating class and one hell of a practical fighter as well according to anyone who came in contact with her during the war. People praise her for her practicality… I find it hard to believe that she didn't have a backup plan. She wouldn't have let the fact the Pettigrew was their Secret Keeper die with her and James in case something happen and, if she was anything like me, she would have wanted all of her bases covered."

"What about their will?" Remus's question brought three surprised gazes onto his.

"What will?" Harry voices Sirius's thoughts. He had never heard about any will, why would James and Lilly even need a will if all of their earthly belongings went to their only child no matter what should they have died.

"Your parents wrote a will shortly before they went into hiding. Dumbledore had it sealed the day after they died but it was supposed to have been read to you no matter what after your eleventh birthday..." A growl rumbles through Remus's chest as he takes in Harry's still confused expression. "Harry… How have you been getting your money out of Gringotts?"

Fury boils in Sirius's stomach as he waits for his godson, his pup, to answer the question. He can physically feel his magic humming around him and, from where's he's watching Harry, he can see Hermione's unruly curls begin to spark as her own magic flares.

"Someone always takes me. First it was Hagrid but it's been Mrs. Weasley for the past three years. They told me I wasn't allowed to keep my key until I came of age…" Harry trails off, his gaze flickering from one person to the next as though looking for someone to give him a straight answer.

"Harry." Sirius's voice his gruff as he speaks through almost clenched teeth in an attempt to control his anger. "At the very least, you should have been given your key when you reentered the magical world. No one has a right to keep that key except yourself or some you trust completely. That coming of age excuse they gave you is shit and the fact that they've been keeping you from hearing the will means that they have something to hide."

* * *

"Do you mind if I sleep here tonight? I couldn't sleep with Lavender and Pavarti prattling on about the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students." Hermione asks as she removes then disillusionment charm she had used to get into Harry's dorm undetected. The excuse is complete bullshit and they both know it but neither of them comments on that fact.

"Sure," Harry replies, wrapping his arm around her tightly as slides under the blankets beside him.

The two teens fall into a comfortable silence but neither of them fall asleep as they stare at the canopy above their heads, both of them lost in their own thoughts.

"How do we know who to trust?" Harry's breath brushes against Hermione's cheek and his gaze captures hers when she turns her head to look at him.

"I don't know." She can't lie to him.

"What are we going to do?"

"I don't know." Her voice is barely a whisper.


	11. Introducing Beauxbatons and Durmstrang

**Not one of my longest chapters but this one's definitely important. I hope you guys like it but any feedback is always appreciated!**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own this sandbox in which I love to play. The amazing J. K. Rowling is the only one with that right.**

 **Chpt. 11: Introducing Beauxbatons and Durmstrang**

"Shouldn't you be out with the rest of the school to greet the other schools?" Sirius questions, running his fingers gently through his lover's hair.

"Hmm. Probably," Remus replies, staring up at Sirius from where his head was resting on the other man's lap as he places his book on his stomach. "But it's close enough to the full moon that I can get away with it." He grins wolfishly up at Sirius.

Sirius laughs, bending down to kiss Remus lightly on the lips. He'd missed his best friend while he was in Azkaban and he'd been so afraid that Remus was going to forget about him and move on but he hadn't. Remus still loved him today as much as he had thirteen years ago and, even though he was still being forced to hide away from the rest of the world and they still had a lot of shit they had to deal with, he was happier than he had been in a long time.

* * *

"Maybe we should start with getting to know the house elves here at school." Luna suggests and Hermione grins. Ginny and Luna had ended up staying in Hermione's room the night before and, though her strangeness had initially made her, Hermione quickly realized how much similar to herself Luna was. They both cared fiercely about those around them, especially the helpless. She was also the second person to really care about SPEW which thrilled Hermione.

"That's a good idea. Maybe they would be willing to open up about their pasts if we befriended them first. We have to know the best and worst conditions house elves work in before we can help them. We also have to make sure that we make it clear to them that we don't want to take them away from their jobs but that we want to make sure that they aren't forced to hurt themselves or do things that they don't want to do."

Luna nods, shooting Hermione a rare genuine smile, but Ginny interrupts her before she can reply.

"Look, look, look!" Ginny jumps up and down, gripping her two friends' arms as she stares at the sky.

The carriage and flying horses honestly don't impress Hermione. "A bit over the top, don't you think?"

Ginny looks scandalized but Luna, Neville, and Harry all laugh at her comment. What does make Ginny laugh (along with Hermione, Neville, and Luna) is how Harry uses Hermione as a sort of human shield, burying his face in her unruly curls in an attempt to hide, when many of the Beauxbaton girls notice who exactly Harry is and start shooting his goo-goo eyes.

"All the scary big bad beautiful girls are gone, Harry. You don't have to hide anymore," Hermione teases her best friend as she lightly pats his hand (which she hadn't realized had been resting on her waist until that moment).

"They weren't that beautiful," he grumbles as he pulls away a bit but leaves his hand on her waist.

The three girls all shoot him disbelieving looks but he just blushes and looks away. Hermione's eyebrows shoot up and she moves her gaze to Neville who is conveniently looking anywhere but the three girls. Her eyes move to Luna and Ginny who look just as curious as she does. Hermione doesn't miss the look of relief on both boys' faces when the sound of roaring water catches Ginny's attention and Ginny pulls their groups attention to the arrival of the Durmstrang students.

"Bloody hell." Ginny whistles softly as the Durmstrang boys pass their little group and both Hermione and Luna burst out laughing. Harry and Neville look down at Ginny in shock but the feisty redhead just shrugs at them, her smirk firmly in place.

* * *

"I think we should wait until break to take Harry to Gringotts to have the will read." Anger flares through Sirius at his lover's suggestion and he quickly sets his fork down on his dinner plate, giving his lover his full attention.

"Why?" he growls.

"Don't you growl at me." Remus glares at Sirius but Sirius doesn't back down. "It's the smart thing to do. Clearly something's going on here and if we pull Harry out of school, it will send out red flags to anyone who's looking. I doubt we'd even make it out of Hogwarts without getting caught. The break gives Harry the perfect excuse to leave. He'll probably be invited to the Weasley's and he can tell them that he wants to do some extra shopping in Diagon Alley and that I offered to take him so that he would be safe."

The anger leaves Sirius's body though he can't shake the bad feeling that comes with this plan. "It makes sense."


	12. A Blessing in Disguise

**Hey guys! I know I haven't responded to all of your comments from the previous chapter yet but I really wanted to post this before I logged off for the day. I promise I'll finish replying either tomorrow or Friday. I hope you guys like it as always!**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own this sandbox in which I love to play. The amazing J. K. Rowling is the only one with that right.**

 **Chpt. 12: A Blessing in Disguise**

"Harry Potter." The voice echoes through the hall even though the Headmaster's voice was quiet and horror clenches at Hermione's chest. She was starting to think she should just hide Harry away on Halloweens because this is absolutely ridiculous.

"I didn't do it!" Harry whispers frantically, his wide eye flickering from her to Neville and Ginny who were sitting across from him and Hermione.

Hermione's eyes connect with her other two friends whose shocked looks were slowly morphing into worry before she looks her best friend straight in the eye, her hand gripping his tightly under the table. "We know," she tells him, her voice unwavering even though she was currently screaming inside.

"HARRY POTTER!" The Great Hall shakes under the power of the Headmaster's voice, the buzzing of voices that had started when Harry's name had come out of the Cup going deadly silent. "Up here if you please!"

Harry sits frozen so Hermione pulls him in for quick hug, he almost instantly relaxes and grips her almost painfully tight as he returns the embrace. "Go," she whispers, her lips brushing softly against his ear. "I'll wait up for you in your room. I have a feeling this is going to go for a long time."

Harry nods into her neck before taking a deep breath and pulling away. Voices buzz around him as the majority of students glare at him but Hermione can't help the pride that wells inside her when Harry holds his head high as he strides the front of the room, ignoring the rest of the student body.

Hermione waits for him to disappear behind the double doors before turning her gaze to Professor Lupin. Surprise flickers through her at the fury clearly present in his eyes but slowly fades away as she takes in the rest of his expression. His concern for Harry etched onto every other feature of his face. Hermione lets out a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, glad that one of the two adults they trusted actually believed Harry.

Hermione's pulls her gaze away from the professor and to the two friends across from her. Both Gryffindors nod to her and the trio rises from the table, quickly exiting the Great Hall. Luna catches up to them moments later.

* * *

Sirius jumps in surprise as Remus storms into the room, the Dark Arts book he had been reading (in an attempt to figure out how exactly Voldemort keeps coming back to life) nearly falling to the ground as he bolts up from where he had been laying on the couch.

"What happened?" Sirius questions as he takes in Remus's flaring amber eyes and the way his magic was sparking around him.

"Someone rigged the damned cup!" Remus growls, running his fingers roughly through his hair as he takes a deep breath. His green eyes meet Sirius's grey gaze with a dark look as a pit forms in Sirius's stomach. "A fourth name came out of the Cup tonight. Two guesses on whose name it was."

"No."

"I wish I was pulling your leg right now, Padfoot." Remus collapses onto the couch next to Sirius.

"I think you're going to have to start giving him and Hermione extra lessons more than once a week. Maybe ask the two of them who else they would like to invite so that Harry can have a bit more variety. He'll need to be prepared for anything to survive this. We've got to give him every advantage we can. And we've got to figure out just who put my pup in danger."

* * *

"There is one positive thing that came out of this," Harry states in response to her telling him that Neville, Ginny, Luna, and herself were the only students who believed that he hadn't placed his name in the Cup after he had finished telling her how Fleur Delacour had treated him like a child, how Cedric hadn't believed that he wasn't trying to steal Hufflepuff's thunder, and how the Ministry was forcing him to compete.

"What's that, Harry?" Her head cocks to the side in question as the two of them sit across from each other on his bed, their knees brushing slightly against each other.

"We don't have to worry about who we can trust anymore."

"Can I ask you something Harry?" Hermione asks after a long moment of silence, her warm chocolate eyes trapping his emerald green gaze.

Harry nods, confusion shining in his eyes.

"Why have you been friends with Ron as long as you have?"

Harry looks away from her, running his fingers through his already messy hair as he answers: "I don't know."

"I understand that he was your first friend but you two are polar opposites. You're studious while he's frivolous. You're kind and quiet while he's loud and vindictive. You've always stood by him but the first time he really needs to stand by you, he turns his back. You've always been exceedingly sweet to me while he's always been rather mean to me. I know if you hadn't been hell-bent on finding me in first year, he would have just left me in the bathroom to die. It was the same thing at the World Cup this summer. The two of us watched each other's backs but he was only interested in saving himself, that's the reason we got separated as easily as we did."

Harry is quiet, his eyes watching her intensely, for a long time and Hermione is about to open her mouth to apologize for pushing too far when he finally responds, "Why didn't you ever tell me any of this before?"

Hermione shrugs, turning her eyes away. "He's your best friend."

Harry's right hand gently cups her face, forcing her gaze back to his. "You're my best friend, Hermione. You have stuck by me through everything, even when I didn't deserve it. You have never doubted me or taken your anger out on me just because you needed to take your anger out on someone. You listen to me and do everything in your power to help me. Going into the girls' bathroom to save you from that troll was the best decision I've ever made. I don't know what I would do without you, Mione."

Tears well in Hermione's eyes as she reaches out with her left hand, gently running her fingers over his cheek before softly cupping the right side of his face with her hand. She doesn't know who leaned in first but their noses were softly brushing against each other before she could completely comprehend what was happening, she does know that Harry was the one to close the distance though. It was a little awkward at first, both were stiff and they kept their mouths closed. This was her first kiss and she was almost 100% sure that this was his first kiss as well. Summoning all her Gryffindor courage, Hermione relaxes and opens her mouth slightly. She feels Harry relax against her, his right hand sliding into her unruly curls and his left arm wrapping around her waist as he deepens the kiss. Hermione's left hand slips into his messy hair as her right hand snakes around his back, pulling him closer.

The two teens finally break apart, their noses still brushing against each other as they attempt to catch their breath.

It's not surprising that Hermione is the first to find her voice as she stares at Harry with wide eyes. "Wow."

Harry grins widely at her in agreement before pulling her in for another kiss.


	13. First Tasks Don't Have To Be Frightening

**Hey guys! Here's the next chapter, I hope y'all like it. Any feedback would be appreciated as always. :o)**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own this sandbox in which I love to play. The amazing J. K. Rowling is the only one with that right. The Skeeter portion of this is also majorly based on the movie, I just didn't want to try copying it word for word.**

 **Chpt. 13: First Tasks Don't Have To Be Frightening**

"Dragons!" Sirius watches Harry jerk his fingers through his hair as he paces in front of him, Remus, and Hermione in Remus's quarters.

"Harry—" Remus tries to cut off the other teen but his godson just continues pacing like he hadn't heard him.

"What are they thinking putting students up against dragons?!" Sirius can't help but agree with him there. It was absolutely ridiculous. And the rest of the school still thought Harry had entered the contest willingly, even professors had been giving him the cold shoulder. A lot of them even had stupid buttons. The only people who really believed him were Sirius himself, Remus, Hermione, Luna, Neville, and Ginny.

"Harry—" Sirius could tell his pup was getting exasperated with Harry not listening to Remus. He was just waiting for her to smack Harry.

"And for the first task!" His godson still ignores Remus.

Hermione jerks out of her seat and quickly strides over to his godson but she doesn't smack him upside the head like Sirius expects her too. Instead his cub wraps her hand around the back of Harry's neck and pulls his lips down to hers in a searing kiss. What's even more surprising is that Harry doesn't seem shocked by this action at all. His body almost instantly relaxes as he wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her body flush against his.

Sirius moves his gaze over to his lover whose forest green eyes are just as wide as he knows his own eyes are. Clearly this isn't something that's normal. His gaze moves back to the still occupied couple and Sirius shakes his head before loudly clearing his throat.

Both teens immediately pull apart and face the two adults in the room at the sound, matching blushes flaring across their faces though their arms remain wrapped around each other's waists.

"Back to what I was trying to say," Remus says, grinning wolfishly at the two teens. "You don't have to worry too much about the dragons, Harry. Snakes are decedents of dragons."

"So?" His godson sounded just as confused as Sirius was.

Luckily, Hermione wasn't. "That means Parseltongue is most likely a variation of their more ancient language that they have the ability to understand and speak it! You will need a backup plan but your ability to speak Parseltongue will give you the edge you need to survive this task. Dragons are very intelligent and reasonable creatures. As long as you don't disrespect them or try to harm them, they will treat you fairly."

His cub grins widely at his lover and Sirius can't help but smile himself. Content that his three favorite people were all in the same room. A comfortable silence falls over the group of four before Sirius decides to break it, "So… When were you going to tell us the two if you had gotten together?"

* * *

Hermione was silent as she walked with Luna, Ginny, and Neville to first task. She'd been quiet all day, silently worrying about Harry even though she knew he'd be fine logically. The rest of her just didn't seem to agree with that. The white tent housing the fourth champions catches Hermione's attention when they're about to enter the arena. "Save me a seat?" She asks her three friends, barely waiting for their nods before she heads toward the tent.

She cautiously watches the shadows of the people in the tent, waiting for the shortest one to be closest to her spot whispering, "Harry?"

The shadow freezes, his familiar voice sounding seconds later, "Hermione?"

She doesn't hesitate to push through the tent flaps and tackle him in a hug. Her best friend stumbles for a moment as he wraps his arms around her to keep her from falling before he gains his footing and pulls her as close to him as he possibly can.

"I'm glad you came," he murmurs softly as he buries his face in her unruly curls.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," she whispers back before kissing his collarbone softly.

Harry takes a deep breath as though to respond but is interrupted by a blinding flash and an irritatingly familiar screechy voice.

"Young love!" Hermione goes to pull away from Harry as Rita Skeeter enters the tent but his arms around her waist only allow her to turn around as he keeps her as close to him as he can. "If nothing goes wrong today, you two just might make the front page." Skeeter's grin reminds Hermione of the cat that caught the canary.

"You haf no buziness here!" A gruff voice interrupts before Skeeter can get another word in. "Thiz tent iz for champions…and friendz."

Hermione doesn't miss the conniving look that crosses Skeeter's face as the Bulgarian champion confronts the reporter, this moment is definitely going to come back and bite them in the ass later. "No matter… I've gotten everything I want here," the reporter states, grinning like the cat who caught the canary before striding purposefully out of the tent.

"Thank you," Hermione says, smiling slightly at the Bulgarian.

He nods, the corners of his lips turning up slightly before going back to whatever it was that he had been doing before.

Hermione turns around in Harry's arms, cupping his cheek softly as his eyes meet hers. "I should go, the task is going to start soon."

"Alright. I'll see you soon." Harry leans down and kisses her softly.

"Good luck." Hermione whispers as she pulls away before pecking his lips once more and pulling away completely.

Hermione quickly strides out of the tent and toward the arena, scanning the seats for her friends. A familiar yip pulls her attention down to Snuffles and she can't help but smile at her friend. "Hey buddy. It's been a while." She leans down to scratch his head. "Are you here to take me to my friends?"

Snuffles snorts and nods his head before walking ahead of her, quickly leading her to her friends and Professor Lupin.

Ginny pulls her down in between herself and Luna as soon as Hermione gets within arm's length of her, both girls holding onto her hands tightly. Snuffles leans against her legs in support and both Neville and Professor Lupin shoot her reassuring smiles. That's what kept her grounded as she waited for Harry's turn with his dragon which he was last for of course.

Harry stepped out into the arena, immediately putting his wand to his throat like Professor Lupin had taught him so they could all here what he was doing. Hermione couldn't help but think it was a bit anticlimactic after that because the dragon just moved aside and let Harry take the egg after her best friend had talked to it for a few moments in Parseltongue. That didn't matter to their group of course, they all still cheered louder as he exited the arena with the egg in his hand than the rest of the spectators put together.

* * *

"We're going to die of worry before they finish school, aren't we Moony?" Sirius questions his lover as he collapses onto their bed after the two of them got back from the first task, tucking both his hands behind his head as he stares at the ceiling.

"That is something I definitely wouldn't be surprised by Padfoot." Remus lays down beside Sirius, softly resting his head on the other man's chest.


	14. Confrontations and Courting

**Sorry I didn't reply to all of your reviews, time really got away from me! I didn't realize it had been so long sing I had posted. I hope you like this chapter though and any feedback is appreciated as always.**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own this sandbox in which I love to play. The amazing J. K. Rowling is the only one with that right and the parts of this chapter** underlined like this **come directly from _Goblet of Fire_ and in no way belong to me.**

 **Chpt. 14: Confrontation and Courting**

"I'm so proud of you!" Hermione exclaimed as she threw her arms around her best friend, not caring that the golden egg in his arms pressed uncomfortably into her side as she smashed her lips to his. She opened her mouth to say something else only to be cut off by an irritatingly familiar voice.

"Congratulations, Harry!" she said, beaming at him. "I wonder if you could give me a quick word? How you felt facing that dragon? How you feel now, about the fairness of the scoring?" 

"Yeah, you can have a word," said Harry savagely. " _Good-bye_."

Hermione had to bit her lip to hold back laugh as Harry wrapped his free arm around her waist and began leading her back to the castle.

"You're not going to lecture me about respecting my elders?" Harry asks when they're far enough away that Skeeter won't hear him, raising his right eyebrow at her in question.

"Why would I?" A smirk tugs at Hermione's lips, mischief sparkling in her eyes as they connect with Harry's emerald gaze. "That woman is absolutely dreadful, she gives journalism a bad name."

Harry grins back at his girlfriend, swooping in to steal a kiss as they enter the old castle.

"If it isn't my so-called best friends," another familiar voice makes the two of them pull apart and turn to face their old friend.

Hermione's back stiffened at the bitterness in Ron's tone and she could feel Harry's entire body stiffen as well, his grip on her waist tightening as he glares at the redhead.

"What do you want, Ron?" Hermione snaps, glaring harshly at the boy who had tormented her for her first three years at Hogwarts but who she had tolerated for the sake of her both her best friend and the girl she thought of as a sister.

"I just wanted to see if you'd finally own up to putting your name into the cup, seeing as how you made it through the first task without any issue whatsoever." Ron glares down at Harry's hand on her waist, his face twisted into a bitter scowl.

"You know very well that Harry didn't put his name in the cup. He didn't want this, Ronald." Hermione's voice raises as she speaks, her magic beginning to spark around her. "Just because you're jealous, doesn't give you the right to be an arse!"

"How could I ever be jealous of an arrogant, greedy, bastard like him?!"

Hermione's want was in her hand, a particularly vicious hex on her lips and the end of her wand sparking before Ron had finished his sentence.

Harry's much larger hand covers hers, lowering her wand before she finishes the spell. "He's not worth it."

Hermione stares at him for a long moment before nodding and kissing her best friend's cheek as he begins to lead her up to Gryffindor tower.

"That's right, just walk away with your mudblood bitch! You bloody coward!"

Harry jerks away from her, his magic crackling around him as he yanks his wand from his robes. "Petrificus Totalus!"

* * *

Sirius tries (unsuccessfully) to hold in his laughter as he and Remus watch his godson, pace back and forth on the other side of the coffee table in Remus's quarters.

"I just don't know what to do. How the hell am I supposed to ask her? I didn't even ask her to be my girlfriend, _she's_ the one who kissed _me_! There's no way she'll want to go to the ball with me, I don't even know how to dance!" His pup broke off from his rant long enough to look at the two men on the couch, his eyes narrowing dangerously when he saw the laughter in their eyes. "This isn't funny!" His godson places his hands on his hips and Sirius can no longer hold in his laughter as he leans into Remus's side, both their bodies shaking with laughter. "It really wasn't that funny," Harry states, his lips pressing together in a firm line one the two older men's laughter dies out.

"It really is, pup. She's already your girlfriend, it's not like she's going to tell you no. Even if you do turn out to be the worst dancer in the world." Sirius smiles fondly at his pup as his shoulders relax and he makes his way over to the chair closest to Sirius.

"Of course, that doesn't mean you can just ask her to go and be done with it. My cub deserves to be wooed. Which means you need to get her flowers at the very least," Remus tells Harry, a stern look on his face that Sirius had only ever seen on the face of James' father.

* * *

"Viktor? As in the Bulgarian champion, Viktor Krum?" Hermione shoves the book the two of them had come upstairs to get into her bag before straightening and staring at her friend with wide eyes.

Ginny avoids her gaze as she nods.

"When did you even talk to him?" Hermione asks, curiosity tugging at her mind as she slings her bag over her shoulder.

Ginny's cheeks flare, a small smile tugging at her lips. "I actually ran into him last night… Literately. I was headed out to go for a flight when I slipped on some black ice near where Viktor likes to jog and I slammed right into him. I thanked him for sticking up for you and Harry against Skeeter and he surprised me by brushing it off like it was nothing. Then he saw my broom and asked if I knew any good places to fly. I offered to show him and the two of us spent the rest of the night flying and talking. He's a lot more intelligent than his headmaster would like you to believe and he doesn't buy into the blood purity a lot of people in that school seem. Gods, it was like a fairytale Mione. We flew for hours over Black Lake, just watching the stars and talking. It was well past midnight before we even realized what time it was. He offered to walk me to my dorm but I didn't want him to go that far out of his way. He still ended up walking me to the castle though and then he asked me to the ball. I didn't even think, I just blurted out yes. Gods, Mione, it all just happened so fast." Her friend spoke so quickly that Hermione wouldn't have understood her if she hadn't been listening as closely as she was.

A large grin spread across Hermione's face and she threw her arms around the redhead, crushing her in a tight hug. "I'm so happy for you, Gin!"

"Thanks, Mione." Ginny grins back after squeezing the older girl just as tightly as as she was squeezing her.

"I just want you to be happy, Gin," Hermione tells her friend as she pulls away and the two girls head down the stairs to the commonroom.

"Do you think Harry will be angry with me for going to the ball with his competition?" Ginny questions Hermione as she runs her fingers through her hair, her nerves showing clearly in her mahogany gaze.

"Of course he won't! He'll be happy to see you happy, we've been worrying about you feeling like a fifth wheel considering Harry and I are dating and it won't be long before Neville finally gets up the courage to ask Luna out. The fact that you're going to the ball with Viktor won't change that. Besides, you know Harry never wanted to be in this competition. He couldn't care less who wins or loses, he just wants everyone to get out of this alive."

Red rose petals falling around the two girls cut off any further conversation and Hermione's gaze zeroes in on the boy standing in front of them a few feet away from the stairs. The rose petals burst into golden dust as they hit the floor, a new red and gold rose appearing in Harry's hand once a certain number of petals hit the ground. "Hermione Jean Granger," Harry begins as he steps toward Hermione, ignoring the petals that get caught in his hair and explode as he makes his way toward her. "You were my first true friend and you have been my best friend for the past three, almost four, years now. I never thought you'd be interested in me but by some miracle you are. You've stuck by me through everything and you've saved my life more times than I can count. You deserve so much more than I could ever give you but I'd like to start with taking you to this ball… If you'd like to go with me of course." The last of the petals burst and Harry holds out the beautiful flowers to her, his eyes staring hopefully into her own.

Hermione lunges forward, crushing her best friend in a tight hug. "Of course I'll go with you, you big goof!"

Her lips crash onto his and neither of the teens notice when the rest of the common room bursts into cheers.


	15. Just Another Day (or Two)

**Sorry I didn't reply to all of your reviews again, time really got away from me! Finals are coming up so I've been super busy. I hope you like this chapter (and the next one even if this one is a bit of a filler) though and any feedback is appreciated as always.**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **P.S. I had a reviewer point out a bit of a plot hole in my first task chapter that I forgot to address in my last post. Hermione and Remus both knew about the Parseltongue/Dragon connection because they're both scholars at heart. When something has as little information on it as dragons do, they will find out everything they possibly can on the subject. Even if it means going into the restricted section or reading "dark" texts. Remus was introduced to dragons during class when he was in school and Hermione started looking into them after she helped rescue Norbert their first year. She also started researching Parseltongue after she found out Harry could speak it their second year.**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own this sandbox in which I love to play. The amazing J. K. Rowling is the only one with that right.**

 **Chpt. 15: Just Another Day (or Two)**

"I almost had to deduct point from our cub, Neville, and Luna during my rounds. I would have had to if I wasn't able to slip into the secret passageway by the kitchens before they saw me," Remus states as he enters the bedroom, unbuttoning his dress shirt as he walks.

"You couldn't have just let them slip by with a warning if you'd caught them?" Sirius closes the book he'd been skimming over and places it on the nightstand as he watches his lover get ready for bed.

Remus looks over his shoulder and raises his right eyebrow as though to say: That is not the kind of example I want to set for our cub and you know it.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. You and your rules," Sirius grumbles and Remus chuckles. "What were they doing out this late?"

"Since they were down by the kitchens, I'd say they were probably talking to the elves again. You know, working on S.P.E.W. again. Trying to figure what they can do to protect the elves. The three of them have actually befriended quite a few of the elves and all of the elves love them. Not to mention the fact that Neville and Luna are both just as passionate about S.P.E.W. as out cub."

* * *

"You should just sleep here every night," Harry murmurs as he hovers above Hermione, placing kisses along her neck.

"Mmm." She runs her fingers through his hair, her nails scratching gently against the back of his head. "You know I shouldn't do that. My roommates might notice."

"I think I can change your mind." Harry gently nips at her collar bone.

"I think you need to shut up," Hermione whispers, pulling his head back up to hers and pressing his lips to hers.

Harry's tongue runs along the seam of her lips and his hands glide down her curves before pausing at the on her thighs as he lifts them up and flirts with the edge of her nightgown.

Hermione opens her mouth for her best friend, allowing his tongue to run against hers, as her hands slide from his hair to where his hands are still flirting with the edge of her nightgown.

"Are you sure?" Harry asks, pulling away just far enough to look into her eyes for conformation as her hands place his under her nightgown.

"Have I ever not been sure of anything? I trust you, Harry. I love you," Hermione whispers.

"I love you, Hermione. More than anything," he whispers back before kissing her gently as his hands slip under her nightgown. Harry pulls her nightgown over her head and a gasp escapes his lips as he stares down at her dressed in only her panties. She fights the urge to cover herself because she trusts him more than anyone else in the world. "You're beautiful, Mione," he murmurs before pressing his lips to hers again.

Hermione's hands slip under Harry's shirt, tugging the material up and over his head. Her fingernails digging into his back as she pulls his body down to hers, pressing her bare chest against his. Her hips rolls against his and both teens groan in pleasure. Hermione's hands follow Harry's spine down his back before pausing at the waistband of his pajama pants.

"Are you still ok?" she whispers as she pulls away just enough to stare into the emerald eyes she loved.

"More than ok," he replies, smiling down at her. "You?"

"Yeah." Hermione smiles back as her hands push down his pants and her lips press against his, her tongue plunging into his mouth once again.

Harry's hands slide down her body, pulling her underwear off as they move down her body before tossing them to the end of his bed.

Hermione's legs open a little wider in invitation as Harry settles in between them. "Where's your wand, Harry?" she gasps, her lips brushing against his with every word.

"Under my pillow," he mumbles, kissing the corner of her mouth. "Why?"

Hermione moves her right hand under his pillow, quickly finding her best friend's wand. She pulls it out and flicks her wrist in the motion Professor McGonagall had made sure all the Gryffindor girls had memorized last year. "Contraception charm Professor McGonagall taught all the Gryffindor girls last year."

Harry nods and presses his lips against hers as she drops his wand back on the bed, both of her hands clasping his shoulders tightly. His manhood presses at her entrance and he pulls away once more. "Ready?"

Hermione nods and Harry kisses her deeply as he slowly presses into her. Her muscles stretch and she waits for the pain but it never comes. All she feels is pleasure.

"You alright?" Harry grunts once he is fully sheathed inside of Hermione.

"More than alright." Hermione wraps her legs around his waist, pulling him even deeper inside of her, and their moans are muffled by their lovers' mouths.

* * *

Sirius watches his lover as he glares at Harry. He'd been glaring at Harry since he'd entered the room and Sirius couldn't figure out why for the life of him.

A godawful screeching pulls Sirius from his thoughts and back to his godson who was holding the egg from the first challenge. Only this time, it was open and glowing. And screeching. Harry closes the egg and the noise stops.

"It's supposed to be a clue but we can't seem to get passed the sound. Mione and I have tried everything." Harry huffs, running his finger through his hair.

Hermione slides a bit closer to his on the couch, placing her hand on his knee and giving it a gentle squeeze.

Remus glares more harshly at the young couple. More specifically: their pup's hand on her boyfriend's knee.

"Have you tried placing it under water?" Sirius asks, getting looks of confusion from the three other people in the room. "When they're out of water, a mermaid's speech sounds like screeching. In my first year here, before I was really close to any of the Marauders, I found a mermaid by the lake that the squid had thrown out because it had disturbed him. It sounded just like that and after Minnie and Dumbles helped return her, I started looking into them. Underneath the water, they sound absolutely angelic but out of the water, their sound is ear shattering."


	16. Dreams & Nightmares

**Hey guys! Make sure you read the chapter before this one too even if it's not as important as this one. This is probably the most important chapter yet and it's a bit longer than usual too. I hope you like reading it as much as I liked writing it...Well, the first part at least.**

 **WARNING: THIS IS THE CHAPTER THAT I WARNED YOU ABOUT AT THE VERY BEGINNING. IT HAS GRAPHIC RAPE. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ IT, WATCH FOR THE BOLDED AUTHOR'S NOTE AND STOP READING THERE.**

 **It is important for the story but you can get by without reading it if you just can't.**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own this sandbox in which I love to play. The amazing J. K. Rowling is the only one with that right.**

 **Chpt. 16: Dreams & Nightmares**

Hermione watches as Luna lets out an exasperated huff before dragging Neville's head down to hers and placing a kiss on his lips, cutting off whatever Neville had been saying the moment before. They were kind of perfect together. He kept her grounded and she kept him on his toes.

"Have I told you that you look beautiful tonight?" Her best friend pulls her from her observation as he twirls her around the floor with ease.

Laughter bubbles in Hermione's throat. "Only about a thousand times."

A comfortable silence surrounds the two teens as they softly sway to their own rhythm, completely ignoring the face paced Weird Sisters song playing around them.

"Can I cut in?" Ginny's voice breaks their silence as she drags Hermione away from Harry before either of them can answer her question, Harry's laughter following the three girls (apparently Ginny had abducted Luna before she'd taken Hermione) as the feisty redhead pulled the other two girls into the middle of the crowd.

Ginny twirls both Hermione and Luna and the two girls return the favor, giggling like maniacs.

"May we cut in ladies?" Harry's voice interrupts Ginny's attempt at the muggle sprinkler three songs later.

The three girls turn toward the sound of his voice only to see Harry, Viktor, and Neville watching the three of them with wide smiles on their faces and laughter sparkling in their eyes.

"I don't know, love. I might just leave you for Gin and Lu, they've been showing me a hell of a good time. What'd you think, girls?" Hermione grins at her boyfriend, throwing her arms over the shoulders of her two friends.

"You're a great girl and all, Mione. But I just don't see you that way," Luna replies, grinning back at her friend.

"Sorry, babe, but I'll have to agree with Lu on this one." Ginny agrees as both girls slip out from under her arms.

"Shatter my heart, why don't you?" Hermione calls after her two friends as they walk away with their dates.

Their laughter is her only response before Harry spins her into his arms, pulling her body close to his before placing his lips on hers.

One of Hermione's hands wraps around Harry's neck and the other threads through his hair, messing up his (for once) neat hair, as she deepens the kiss.

Harry's hand slide down to the small of her back, pulling her small frame even closer to his as his tongue glides against her.

"Fifty points from Gryffindor for inappropriate conduct," Professor Snape's harsh voice breaks the young couple away from their embrace. "There is a time and a place for that and it is not here. Now get out of my sight before I deduct more points." He whirls away from them before they have the chance to move.

"Want to get out of here?" Harry bends down to whisper in her ear.

"Sure," Hermione replies, smiling up at her best friend.

Harry smiles back before leading her out of the room.

Hermione pulls her best friend to a stop when she sees a familiar redhead nearly hidden by the burly frame of the famous Bulgarian. Warm chocolate eyes meet emerald green, mischief shining brightly in both sets of eyes.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Harry and Hermione speak in unison, looks of mock scorn on their faces.

The couple pulls away just far enough for Ginny to roll her eyes at her two friends. "Like you two didn't just loose Gryffindor points for doing the same exact thing."

"Touché, my friend," Hermione replies, smiling at her friend before pulling Harry in the direction of the staircase. "See you later tonight," she calls over her shoulder.

"So I take it you're not staying with me tonight?" Harry asks as they reach the bottom of the staircase.

Hermione shoots him a sheepish look. "I promised Lu and Gin we could do a girls' night after the ball in my room. I promise I'll stop by tomorrow before I leave though."

"Sounds—" Harry starts to respond but is cut off by a familiar angry voice.

"TOO OLD FOR ME! I'M OLD ENOUGH TO MAKE MY OWN CHOICES, RONALD BILIUS!" Ginny's voice echoes down the quiet hallway as Harry and Hermione sprint back toward the other couple.

It's quiet just long enough for Harry and Hermione to make it back to Ginny and Viktor who were standing in front of an angry Ron.

"DON'T BE STUPID, HE'S ONLY AFTER ONE THING!" Ron shouts, glaring at the couple in front of him.

"Ginny is amazing girl. I am pri-vah-laged that she came with me tonight," Viktor's voice is dangerously low as he steps toward Ron (who backs away, fear in his eyes). "I vould nevher hurt her."

Ginny smiles at Viktor, her smaller fingers threading through his larger ones as she softly squeezes his hand.

The red in Ron's face deepens as he watches his sister and Hermione takes a protective step toward the girl who had become like a sister to her.

"YOU'RE BETRAYING YOUR HOUSE AND YOUR SUPPOSED FRIEND!" Ron yells, glaring down at his sister though Viktor's burly frame keeps him from getting any closer to his younger sister.

"I'M BETRAYING MY FRIEND! YOU'VE BEEN A JACKASS FOR MONTHES AND I'M THE ONE WHO'S BETRAYING HIM!" Ginny screams and Viktor has to hold her back to keep her from tackling her brother.

Ron opens his mouth to respond but the flick of Hermione's wrist and the hex hitting his face quickly stops whatever idiotic statement was about to come out of his mouth. Little black bats crawl out of his nose and begin attacking his face as Harry, Ginny, and Viktor stare from Ron to Hermione in shock.

"Ginny has been more loyal to Hermione and I in the last year than you have in the entire time we have known you. She came to Hermione after Viktor asked her to the ball to make sure I wouldn't be angry and Hermione was right when she said I wouldn't be. I just want her to be happy and if she chooses to be happy with Viktor, then that's her choice. He's a nice guy who has been nothing but polite to us and Ginny. Just like she deserves. Like you have never treated her. She is one of our best friends and you, in comparison, are nothing. And it's going to take a hell of a lot for us to trust you again. And yes, it will be us. My life will be tied to Hermione's for as long as she wants me and you won't be welcome near us if you continue to treat her as you have in the past," Harry is the first of the three to regain his wits as he fixes Ron with a cold stare. "Let's get out of here, guys. I think that's more than enough excitement for tonight."

Hermione follows Harry, gripping his hand softly, as he leads her up the stairs with Viktor and Ginny on their heels.

"You've got to teach me that hex, Mione. It was badass," Ginny breaks the silence once they're out of Ron's sight.

"I was planning to show it to both you and Lu, I just learned it myself," Hermione replies, grinning at her friend.

"Because you girls really need more hexes in your arsenal." Harry's voice is heavy with sarcasm and their group bursts into laughter as they reach the fat lady's portrait.

"See you in a few, Gin." Hermione smiles at the redhead before pulling Harry through the portrait hole and leaving the younger girl with the Bulgarian.

Harry walks Hermione to the bottom of the girls' staircase before wrapping his arms around her waist to stop her and pressing his lips against hers, one of his hands threading through her hair while the other slides down to the small of her back to press her body as close to his as possible.

One of Hermione's hands grips her boyfriend's shoulder blade while the other twined in his messy hair to pull him closer as the kiss deepened.

"I love you, Harry," Hermione whispers when they pull apart.

"I love you, Hermione." He smiles softly at her and kisses the tip of her nose.

"Goodnight," she whispers after placing a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Goodnight, love."

It was better than any of her dreams.

* * *

Snuffles nudges Remus's leg before shooting a pointed glance at his godson whose bottom lip was tucked into his teeth, a habit he'd no doubt picked up from their favorite bookworm.

Remus nods, running his hand down the animagus's back, before turning to the younger man. "Where's your head, cub?"

It wasn't the first time that Remus had used that term for Harry but it still surprised Sirius every time he would use it. His wolf had never considered Harry a part of his pack like he did Sirius and Hermione... Until he and Hermione had become a serious couple that is. He now saw Harry as his cub's mate and a part of his pack.

"I just can't shake the feeling that we shouldn't have let Mione go home," Harry states, running his fingers roughly through his permanently messy locks.

Remus doesn't answer for a long moment, a sigh escaping his lips in the silence. "I'm sure she'll be fine. She can more than take care of herself."

It's a lie and they all know it but none of them of them are willing to admit it. Some Gryffindors they are.

Gringotts comes into view before any of them break the silence and the trio quickly makes its way into the bank.

Harry takes the lead as he strides toward purposefully toward one of the furthest goblins from the door. "Hello, Griphook. How are you?" He greets the goblin, confusion showing clearly on his face when both Remus and the goblin stared at the young man in shock. Goblins weren't normally shown respect by wizards let alone known by name.

"I am doing well. And yourself, Mr. Potter?" The goblin quickly regains his composure.

"Alright. I was just hoping you could help me with something."

"I can most certainly try. What seems to be the issue?" There's a kindness in the goblin's voice that Snuffles had never heard from a goblin before.

"I just recently learned that my parents had a will and I was hoping that I could hear it now." Harry doesn't question why the goblins hadn't asked him if he wanted to hear the will on his first visit or place any blame on the goblins which surprises Sirius. He definitely would've chewed whichever goblin came in his path by now… It really shouldn't surprise him then. His godson had more respect in his pinky finger than Sirius had had in his entire body at Harry's age. Even though Harry's life was just as bad if not worse than Sirius's.

"Gringotts Bank was informed by your magical guardian that you did not wish to hear the will until you came of age. Is that not true?" Anger simmers clearly in the goblin's voice.

"I don't even know who my magical guardian is so I have no idea how they could have told you what I wanted."

"I will look into how this happened personally and keep you up to date on what I find. For today though, I'll contact your account manager and have him read you the Potter will."

"Thank you, Griphook. I'm sure you're extremely busy so that you're willing to look into the issue personally means a lot to me. Would you be willing to be there for the reading? Just so there's someone there I can trust who understands the legal jargon behind the will." Sirius's eyes widen as he watches his godson.

"Absolutely, Mr. Potter. It would be my pleasure."

"You can call me Harry, sir."

A terrifying smile tugs at Griphooks lips as he replies, "It would be my pleasure."

* * *

 **[AN: STOP READING HERE IF YOU WANT TO AVOID THE RAPE.]**

Hermione huffs, flipping over in her bed for the umpteenth time. Something wasn't right. Her father hadn't done anything to her for missing the first couple days of the winter holidays. Her door creaks open and she bolts up in her bed, her hand scrambling for her wand. Crack! She flinches slightly as the sound echoes through the quiet room and her wand rolls under her bed. A curse escapes her lips and she goes to get out of the bed but a cold chuckle paralyses her.

"Such crude language from such a pretty little mouth." Her father's deep voice comes from her doorway.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione's voice is harsh even though shivers of fear are racing along her spine. God, she wished Harry was here.

Her father strides toward her, a smile on his face that she was sure she had never seen before but that seemed to tug at something in the back of her mind. His hands undo his belt and he lets his pants fall to the ground. "You're a smart girl, what do you think?" He sits on the edge if her bed, his hand sliding up her leg.

The image of his calloused hands running over her much smaller legs flashes through her mind and she shakes her head in an attempt to make the image go away. "No!" She gasps, tears pricking at the corner of her eyes. Even he couldn't be that much of a monster. It couldn't be true. "Get away from me!" She tries to kick his hand off of her and scramble away from him but his hand clamps down on her upper thigh, his fingers digging into her skin with a bruising force. She screams, praying that her mother hears her. If she does, she doesn't come to help. She should have stayed at Hogwarts.

"Come on now. If you're old enough to go to dances with boys, you're old enough to do this with me." His grip on her thigh tightens as he yanks her down on the bed before releasing his grip just long enough for him to pin her small frame down with his large body. "It's not nearly as fun when you can't fully participate." His rough hands run down her sides and behind her ass before stopping at her thighs and jerking them apart.

"Please don't!" She begs as he positions himself in between her legs.

He rips her underwear from her body and she cries out in pain as the elastic snaps away from her, wishing she wore more than a nightgown to bed that night as his erection rubs against her.

His lips crash onto hers, cutting off any more attempts to beg. He aligns himself at her entrance and slams into her without warning, using her cry of pain as an opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth.

Hermione screams out in pain as he continues to slam into her. "Please stop!" She sobs are still muffled by his lips as she tries in vain to push him away.

He doesn't.

Hermione doesn't know how much times passes after that. It could have been seconds or minutes or hours. But finally her father stiffens on top of her, a groan escaping his lips as he releases inside of her.

He pulls out of her and stands up. She brings her knees to her chest, sobs wracking through her entire body. He bends down and kisses her forehead. She flinches away.

"Good night, sweetheart."

This was worse than her worst nightmare.


	17. We're All A Bit Broken, Little Cub

**The last chapter was pretty heavy so here's a little closure to hold you over for a little while. This coming week is my last week of classes before finals so I won't have much time to write since I'll be studying and packing up my dorm room. Hope you like it!**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **P.S. Just wanted to say thank you to my anonymous reviewers since I feel like they don't get enough love. I really appreciate hearing for you!**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own this sandbox in which I love to play. The amazing J. K. Rowling is the only one with that right.**

 **Chpt. 17: We're All A Bit Broken, Little Cub**

A small growl escapes Remus's lips as he kicks his leg in his sleep, waking Sirius from the light sleep he'd finally managed to fall into. Both men had had trouble doing much of anything since Remus had dropped Harry off at the Weasley's after their stop in Diagon Alley. They just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Remus had managed to fall asleep first, mostly because it was close to the full moon and that was taking its toll on him, but Sirius had laid beside his lover for hours, just listening the sounds of Number 12 Grimmauld Place and Kreacher grumbling his way down the hallways.

 _Bang! Bang! Bang!_ Sirius is out of the bed, pulling on his abandoned boxers, before the third bang hits. Remus is barely a second behind him. _Bang! Bang! Bang!_ They race down the stairs, wands in their hands. _Bang! Bang! Bang!_ Sirius sees Remus freeze out of the corner of his eye, the other man turning his head in the direction of the door as though to make sure what he's hearing is real. Remus's wand falls from his hand and he sprints toward the door, leaving Sirius behind. _Bang! Bang!_ Remus reaches the door, jerking it open. Sobs fill the quiet house and the portrait of his mother starts screeching.

"Hermione." Sirius's voice cracks as his wand falls from his hand and he sprints toward his lover and his daughter…Their daughter. There was no denying the fact that she was theirs anymore. She was the perfect mix of the two of them. Rebellious like Sirius. Studious like Remus. More loyal, courageous, and stubborn than the two of them put together…And right now, she was hurt. And whoever did it would die… After they took care of their pup.

"I didn't know where else to go," she sobs into Remus's bare chest, clutching onto him so tightly that her fingernails were drawing blood on his back.

Remus cradles the back of her head with one of his hands and buries his nose in her hair, breathing in the younger girl's scent. Looking up after a moment, his amber eyes meet Sirius's gaze. "Our cub is wet, get her some clothes. I'm going to take her upstairs," he growls and Sirius had never been so glad to have Moony in charge.

* * *

"Knock, knock." Remus's soft voice breaks Hermione away from a tome on the Dark Arts. He's leaning against the entrance of the library, attempting to appear relaxed. "Can I come in?"

Hermione nods, shutting her book and watching the older man with wary eyes.

Remus slowly enters the room and sits on the couch beside the teen. "Are you ready to talk now?"

"I guess," Hermione sighs, staring at the bookshelves over Remus's right shoulder.

"How did you get here? We didn't find out that Sirius had access to this place until we went to Gringotts today." Remus's voice soothes her, she knows he would never hurt her.

"I don't know…I just remember running… and it was cold and rainy… I wanted to be safe… But I knew Harry was at the Weasleys and they would ask too many questions… and then I felt a pull in my stomach and I was on the sidewalk outside of this place… and I just… I don't know… _knew_ that I would be safe here." Hermione's voice is scratchy from the sobs that had racked her chest a few days earlier.

"Will you tell me what happened, little cub? What made you run? I can smell that you were hurt, just not how or who." Hermione continues avoiding his stare though she can feel his gaze trained firmly on the side of her face as she pulls her knees to her chest and wraps her arms around her legs.

"Smell it?" She avoids the question and the older man sighs.

"You're a part of my pack, cub. I've known it since the day you walked into my compartment on the train. My wolf can sense when something happens to you, when you're hurt. He… I want to protect you. .. It's like how I know that you and Harry have slept together. When the two of you 'mated', Harry became a part of my pack and your scent changed."

Shock courses through Hermione's body and her milk chocolate eyes snap to his serene green gaze, searching for any sign of trickery. There was none. "I'm…part of your pack…part of your…family?" She couldn't hide the hope in that statement even if she tried. "But I…don't deserve it…I'm so…broken."

"We're all broken, cub," he whispers in her ear as he pulls her into his arms.

"Why did he do it?" her voice cracks as she buries her face in the crook of his neck, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Do what?" he probes gently, stroking her hair softly in an attempt to sooth her.

"Rape me," she barely gets out before the sob rips out of her chest.

* * *

Sirius wasn't used to being the rational one in their relationship. Normally he was the one who went off the handle. He'd spent a good chunk of his life in Azkaban because of it. Watching Remus now as he paced back and forth in their bedroom while Sirius sat on the bed with his heads in his hands, you wouldn't know that though.

"We shouldn't have let her go there," Remus growls, stalking from one side of the room to the other.

"We couldn't have known—" Sirius attempts to calm his lover but a vicious snarl cuts him off.

"WE KNEW SHE WAS IN DANGER! WE SHOULD HAVE KEPT HER WITH US EVEN IF WE HAD TO TIE HER TO A CHAIR TO KEEP HER IN ONE SPOT!" Remus roars, his magic lashing out as his amber eyes flare.


	18. A Broken Family

**Hey guys! Thank you so much for the well wishes on my finals and I'm sorry I didn't have time to reply to your reviews. I'm taking a study (and packing) break right now and was feeling inspired so I wrote this one for you guys. Hope you like it. :o)**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own this sandbox in which I love to play. The amazing J. K. Rowling is the only one with that right.**

 **Chpt. 18: A Broken Family**

"Hermione!" Unruly mahogany curls fly through the air as the young woman pushes back from the table she had commandeered in the Black Library, one of the many papers scattered across the table falling to the ground as she sprints out of the room and down the stairs.

"Harry!" A grin breaks out across her face at the sight of her best friend as she flings herself into his arms.

"Hello, love," he murmurs, burying his face in her hair as he hugs her tightly to his chest.

"What are you doing here? You're supposed to be with the Weasleys for the rest of the break." Hermione pulls away just enough to look up into his emerald eyes, the grin falling slightly at the concern clearly displayed there.

"Remus managed to convince them to let me stay with him for the last day and a half so he could 'tell me stories about my parents and show my pictures' like he hasn't been doing that since the first day I met him. I wanted to come as soon as I heard you were here but the Weasleys took a lot of convincing. Why aren't you at home?"

"I am home." Hermione's voice is cold even to her own ears and she has to force herself not to glare at her best friend. Hurt flashes across Harry's face and Hermione immediately pulls him into a hug. "I'm sorry, love. I just... That place isn't my home... It's as much my home as Number 4 is your home," she murmurs into his messy raven hair as she rubs his back. "I'm so glad you're here."

"I'll always come when you need me. I love you more than anything." Harry places a kiss to her neck, tightening his grip around her.

Hermione felt safer in that moment than she had since she left Hogwarts.

* * *

"What am I supposed to do, Sirius?" Harry sighs, running his fingers through his messy hair as he paces in front of the older man. Sirius didn't know when he'd become the levelheaded one in his relationships and he didn't really know if he liked it. Honestly, he wondered when hell had frozen over.

"Just be there for her, pup. Don't be any different than you normally would. Love her as she is like you always have. That is what she needs right now."

"How can I do that when all I want to do is kill him?!"

"We all want to kill him, pup. But that is not what that beautiful girl needs right now. What she needs right now is her family. That means she needs you, Remus, and myself to put aside our anger and be there for her."

Harry pauses, the same hopeful look on his face that Remus had described was on Hermione's face when the two of them had had a very similar conversation. "Family," his godson whispers. "We're a family?" He looked so broken... James and Lilly would be heartbroken if they could see their son now.

"That's what we are Harry. As broken as we may be, we're a little less broken when we're together." Sirius pulls his godson into a tight embrace, the younger boy's tears quickly soaking into his shirt.

* * *

"What'd you want to talk to us about, cub?" Remus asks from where Hermione had sat him, Sirius, and Harry on the couch in the library.

Hermione worries her bottom lip in between her teeth for a moment before looking down at the stack of papers in her hand and taking a deep breath. "What if I told you that there was a way for you to legally help both Harry and I in the muggle world without anyone in the wizarding world standing in your way?"

Harry's eyes widen in surprise, hope overtaking every feature of his face but he remains silent.

Remus's eyebrows draw together in thought, his eyes never leaving Hermione as he waits for her to continue.

Sirius is the one who speaks, his eyebrows drawn together much like Remus's, "What do you mean, pup?"

Hermione takes another deep breath before continuing, "For as long as I can remember, I've walked to the library as soon as my parents left for work. When I was about seven years old, one of the librarians recommended this book called Matilda. It was well below my reading level but I read it because the woman told me that I reminded her a great deal of the main character. And she was right. The main character is a young girl with horrible parents who finds sanctuary in books. She also has telekinetic powers though the librarian couldn't have known I was a witch. But that's beside the point... At the end of the book, the young girl is freed from her parents because she drew up her own adoption papers and her parents signed her over to the sweet teacher who had become her mother figure... After I read that book, I started reading legal books and learning every loophole I could just in case I ever got the chance to escape my parents. I even practiced drawing up adoption papers." Hermione places the first set of papers onto the table, the adoption papers she'd drawn up for herself.

"If you were willing to, Remus, I would really like to officially become a part of your family... We'd have to go back to my parents' house but that would give me the opportunity to collect the few things I would like to keep from there and it would allow me to confront both my mother and father for the pain they have caused me over the years." Seeing the slightly offended look on Sirius's face, Hermione places her full attention onto Sirius.

"I would have put both your names on the papers but the ministry has made you a criminal in both the muggle and wizarding worlds so your name would draw up a red flag and everything could go to hell. And, considering how bigoted the wizarding community is, that isn't likely to change until we can capture Pettigrew because they won't take the word of the Goblins even though Lilly and James's will stated that you were not the secret keeper. You would be arrested, I would be sent back to my parents, Remus would be questioned, and Harry would lose his chance at freedom." Hermione turns her gaze to her boyfriend, giving him a small smile.

"Harry's loophole is a little different, a little easier actually. His Mum did most of the work for us." Hermione sets the second set of papers down on the table when their faces fill with confusion. The copy of his parents' will that Hermione had asked Harry to have Griphook send over, multiple lines highlighted.

"The will explicitly states that Lilly filed Remus as a foster parent in case Sirius couldn't take care of Harry and that she filled out paperwork so that he would go straight to Remus if he ended up in the foster system. This didn't work after their deaths because he was sent directly to the Dursleys who are blood relations. If we can prove that the Dursleys are abusing him, Harry will go into the foster system and custody of him will be given directly to Remus."


	19. Reassurance, Support, and Protection

**So I'm going to be honest guys, a couple of the reviews from last chapter kind of bummed me out. Well, actually they kind of pissed me off and then bummed me out. Don't get me wrong, I love any feedback I get and I really do appreciate hearing their thoughts because they were helpful (especially considering they were more constructive criticism than flames) but that doesn't mean that my kneejerk reaction was still to be upset...But that's why I wait for at least a few hours before replying to those reviews. Being angry and defensive doesn't do anyone any good. I do want to be clear for the rest of you guys on two things though:**

 **1) This is not an extremely deep piece and yes, that is mostly because of how short the chapters are (and partly because I switch POVs in my chapters). But I can't really change it this far into the game without the story being completely unbalanced and honestly, I don't really want to. I write this story to blow off steam, it's basically a flashficiton story... Who knows, maybe I'll come back to this later and go more in depth like I have with Marauder's Daughter.**

 **2) I do realize that this story has a lot of the hurt/comfort genre in it as well. I actually debated putting that as my second genre instead of family but I chose family because that is one of the major themes of this piece. It's Harry and Hermione not just finding family in each other but also in Sirius and Remus and possibly Ginny, Neville, and Luna as well. (Though I just realized when I was replying to reviews that the person who told me that I should change my genre didn't even read passed the first chapter...which explains a lot of their questions now that didn't really make sense to me considering they were all answered either in the next chapter or the next couple. The whole family thing didn't really start coming into play until the thirdish chapter if I remember right.)**

 **I also wanted to ask you guys to make sure to call me out on my inconsistencies so that I can go back and fix them or explain if something just got missed. It would be super helpful.**

 **Sorry for the long AN but I had to get that off my chest. I hope you like this chapter (even if it is a bit of a filler).**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **P.S. I know I said I wouldn't update but (like I mentioned above) this is a good way to blow off steam from packing and putting together my portfolios. :o)**

 **P.S.S. Thanks for your review Guest, Hermione's brains are pretty awesome. She definitely isn't the brightest witch of her age for nothing. :o)**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own this sandbox in which I love to play. The amazing J. K. Rowling is the only one with that right.**

 **Chpt. 19: Reassurance, Support, and Protection**

Sirius Black loved his animagus form. If it weren't for the fleas, he would have seriously (no pun intended) thought about making the change permanent. The ability to run at speeds faster than any normal human could ever achieve had to be his favorite part. That's what he had been doing tonight. And that's what he has been coming back from when he heard his pup talking to his lover from outside their bedroom door. He most definitely hadn't intended on ease dropping. But that's what happened.

"How are you feeling?" her voice was soft, like she was afraid speaking louder would break the older man.

"Better than I have in a long time, little cub. It helps having my pack around me during the full moon. Even if you and Harry are upstairs while Sirius and I are locked in the basement," Remus's voice was raspy from the strain his transformation always put on him.

"It'll get better once I can finish my animagus training with McGonagall and can help Harry with his." It's silent for a few moments before Hermione continues, "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything, little cub," Remus whispers and Sirius can just picture his lover pulling their daughter into his arms to comfort her, to reassure her that nothing she will ever say could change his mind about her.

"What do you think I should do?" Sirius can barely hear her, even with the heightened hearing of his animagus form.

"About what?" Sirius would bet his life that Remus knew exactly what she was talking about, it was hard not to.

"What should I do when I see him again?"

"What do you want to do?"

"I want to kill him. To look at him in the eyes as I Crucio him until he begs for death. I want him to tell me why he has done what he has to me, why he felt the need to hurt me. I want him to know the pain I have, to suffer like I have. And then I want to end him."

"If that's what you want then I will support your decision. But before you take that step, you should think about what stooping down to that level will do to you. Are you ready to give into that darkness?"

* * *

Hermione watches Harry, leaning against his doorway with a fond smile on her face as he rummages through the trunk he'd had Sirius and Remus bring back from Gringotts. The one Harry had been told that Lilly and James had taken with them into hiding. How he'd survived with people trying to kill him, she didn't know sometimes. He really wasn't the most observant when he felt safe. Which wasn't often if she were being honest. She was happy he finally felt safe enough to relax. That he finally had a home. That they both had a home. Even if it was dark and creepy and full of magic that could make your skin crawl if you stuck around it for too long.

"What're you up to?" Harry jumps, slipping on the hardwood floor and hitting his head against the trunk. "Are you alright?" Hermione rushes forward, squatting down beside him and running her fingers over his head gently to check for any bumps while trying to hold in her laugh.

"I'm fine, Mione." There's a little bit of laughter in his voice as he stares up at Hermione, a smile quirking at his lips. "There's actually something I wanted to give you." He leans back into the trunk, rummaging around for a moment before pulling out a small rectangular box. It was familiar to her, she had one very similar to it tucked away in her trunk back at the prison the rest of the world called her home. This one was just a lot more faded than the one in her trunk, a lot older.

"Why are you giving me this, Harry?" Hermione glances from the wand box to her best friend.

"I think it would be a good idea for us to have backup wands. There's a war coming, we can't deny it even if we wanted to, and we're bound to be disarmed at one point or another. Having wands that no one else knows about could benefit us in the future. That one was my mum's, it's similar to yours and it will work well enough even if it isn't a perfect match. It also belonged to a wizard of age so it no longer has the trace on it." Hermione opens her mouth to object, she couldn't possibly take one of the only things Harry had left of his mother, but he cuts her off before she can get her first word out. "I know it's one of the only things I have of my mother but I want you to have it and I think it's only right that you do. You are my family now, Hermione. You protect me just like she did. You're intelligent and strong and loyal. I know she would be proud to take you into our family, she would be happy that the two of us are together. That's why you should carry her wand just like I'll be carrying my dad's. I hope her wand protects you as well as she protected me."

Hermione's eyes fill with tears and she throws her arms around his neck, pulling Harry into a tight hug. "I love you, Harry," she murmurs against his neck.

"More than anything, Hermione," he whispers into her hair as he cradles her gently in his arms.

* * *

"Where's your head, pup?" Sirius asks Hermione as the two of them sit on the sofa in the library, Sirius cradling a glass of firewhiskey in his hands while he watches the fire burn and Hermione reading another one of the many large tomes from the Black family library. At least that was what she would appear to be doing to anyone else. It hadn't escaped the notice of Sirius Black that his pup hadn't turned a page in her book for the past half an hour.

"Hmm?" She questions after a moment's pause.

"Where's your head, pup?" Sirius repeats, setting down his glass and turning to face his pup as his eyebrows draw together in concern.

"I'm just thinking about tomorrow…Do you think we're doing this too soon? Shouldn't we do more research? There are so many things that could go wrong." Hermione closes the tome and clutches it to her chest, like it's some sort of shield.

Sirius scoots closer to the young girl, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his side. "I think you've been in that place long enough already. There's no way in hell I would ever let you go back there or Moony or Harry for that matter. Screw the consequences. Screw planning. When has anything ever gone according to plan for us?"


	20. Birth Parents Be Gone

**Sorry it's taken me so long to post this you guys, I promise that I haven't forgotten you guys and that I haven't abandoned this story. If you're reading my other story then you already know that my computer crashed and I lost everything (including what I'd already written for this chapter) but you don't know that I hit a major writing block for this story. I've had the second half written for a long time but I just finished the first part last night. I hope you guys like it and I look forward to hearing from you all again. I really missed you guys.**

 **Love**

 **Adrien**

 **P.S. Sorry for not replying to all your reviews but I really wanted to post this for you guys as soon as possible. You more than deserve it.**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own this sandbox in which I love to play. The amazing J. K. Rowling is the only one with that right.**

 **Chpt. 20: Birth Parents Be Gone**

"Ready little cub?" Remus leans around Harry, who is squeezing Hermione's left hand to support, to look into the young witch's eyes as the adoption papers crinkle slightly in her right hand.

Hermione opens her mouth to speak but no words come out of her mouth until Sirius's large hand covers hers, gently loosening the death grip she had on the papers and giving her his trademark smirk of confidence (though she could see the concern for her shining brightly in his eyes). "I am." She smiles at the werewolf and squeezes Harry's hand one last time before letting go and taking a step forward in her own, her confidence growing with each step as she strides toward her parents' dental office.

She doesn't stop when she reaches the door because she knows that her true family will watch her back. The bell dings as she walks through the door and straight toward the front desk. Lupin, Sirius, and Harry taking their places a few steps behind her just in case something goes wrong.

Her mother stands behind the front desk, closing the file she had been looking at as she speaks, "I'm sorry but we're clo-" The older woman's eyes meet the identical ones of her daughter, no more words coming out of her mouth. Hermione had always though her mother was beautiful in a tragic sort of way but looking at her now, Hermione couldn't see from that point of view anymore. The woman standing in the other side of the desk was frail looking. Her hair was pulled back into an immaculate French braid and her clothes pressed perfectly. Anyone else would see her red rimmed, clearly bloodshot eyes, and think she hadn't slept well the night before. They would never think that those eyes were the result of the bottle of vodka she's drank the night before. They would never think that the hollowed (or chiseled as many of her envious female patients stated) cheeks and splotchy skin were cleverly disguised by the makeup routine she'd perfected before Hermione could remember. They never think that her ribs could be seen if she took her clothes off. But that was all Hermione could see in this moment. A broken woman who had stood idly by while her child was tormented. A disgrace. "Hermione, sweetheart, where have you been? We've been so w-"

"Don't." The older woman flinches away from the cold authority in her daughter's voice. "You don't get to pretend to be worried about my wellbeing now when you stood by for years and let your husband hurt me."

"I'm so sorry-"

"You're sorry?" Hermione cuts her off once again, her magic flaring around her even if she doesn't raise her voice. "You think you can just say sorry and everything will be fine. Being sorry can't erase the fact that you didn't do anything to stop him from hurting me for years. That you just curled up with your bottle and tuned to rest of the world out instead of helping me. That you didn't do anything when I screamed that night and don't even try to tell me that you didn't hear me because I know you heard me and I know that you know I haven't cried out for help in years so you don't get to say sorry and have everything be ok."

"You're right." The older woman sighs after a beat of silence. "There is no excuse. And I don't deserve your forgiveness. But I do love you, no matter what you might think. I love you more than anything in this world, sweetheart."

Hermione stares at the broken woman in front of her, her eyes never leaving the older woman's as she places the adoption papers on the desk facing the other woman. "Then do right by me for the first time in your life. If you love me as much as you say then sign these papers so that I can get away from this life and be with people who will protect me with everything they have." She pulls one of the pens from the jar on the desk and places it on top of the papers.

"Will this make you happy?" The woman Hermione was supposed to call her mother asks, her eyes sparking with a strength Hermione had never seen as she stares the younger woman down. Hermione nods and the older woman's lips tug up in a bitter smile. "That's all I've ever wanted." She signs the papers then looks up at the girl who was no longer her daughter with tears in her eyes. "This isn't how I planned things you know. I grew up in a very conservative home with a mother who stayed home to homeschool me and a father who was a pastor. The only reason they allowed me to go to university was so I could meet a husband. I met your father there and he offered me an escape. He promised to let me work even after we were married, he offered me a partnership instead of the type of relationship my own parents had. He promised me the world I wanted and I was so lovesick that I didn't realize what he was doing until it was too late. By the first time he hit me, we were already married with everything under both our names and all of my friends and family completely alienated from myself. I had nowhere to go so I stayed. I started drinking in an attempt to numb the pain and then I became addicted, drinking even when he oils the hurt me. Then we had you and I thought things would get better but they didn't. The first time he hit you, I was going to leave and take you with me but he threatened to take you away from me if I tried. He said no judge would ever believe a drunk and that he'd take me for everything I was worth then make sure I never saw you again. So I stayed and he continued hurting us both. That night I heard you scream, I was lying in bed with a half empty bottle of vodka pressed to my chest. I was paralyzed and I didn't know what to do. I kept telling myself that if you screamed again, I would go help you but you never did. It's no excuse but that's what happened. I don't expect you to forgive me because I don't deserve it but you deserve to know why. You are the only part of my life that I am proud of, I don't know how it happened but you are a much stronger woman than I could ever be."

"Thank you," Hermione whispers because she can't lie and tell the older woman she forgives her when she doesn't. She might eventually but she can't right now. She takes the papers and pen from the desk and strides toward the door she knows the monster she's supposed to call her father is currently lurking behind.

* * *

Sirius goes to follow his pup into the other room but a thin hand grips his arm, stopping him.

"Will she be ok?" The woman asks him, her eyes searching his in the same way his pup did when she wanted to make sure someone was telling her the truth.

"Eventually," he answers and shakes off her arm so that he can be with his pup because that's where he really needs to be right now. Where he wants to be.

* * *

Hermione bursts into the monster she was meant to call a father's office, her magic crackling around her and a malicious smile twitching at her lips as the monster that called herself her father jumps from his desk.

"What are you doing here?" He snarls but for the first time ever she can see the fear in his eyes.

"I'm here for two things. First, you're going to willingly sign these-"

"And why the hell-"

"Shut up." She draws her wand faster than he can comprehend and points the sparking end at the older man, a vicious hex on the tip of her tongue. "For once, I am going to speak and you are going to listen. You will sign these papers and then you will answer my questions or I will force you to."

Laughter escapes his lips as he takes a confident step toward the younger girl. "You wouldn't hurt me. You couldn't hurt a fly even if you wanted to."

"I think you overestimate my character." With a flick of her wrist, the older man flies through the air and slams into the wall of his office. A bat bogey hex flying at his face before he can realize he's stuck to the wall, horrified screams leaving his throat as he unsuccessfully attempts to get away from the hex. Three quick strides has her right in front of the monster, the air around her sparking as she stops the bed and slams the papers next to his right hand, forcing a pen into his hand. "Now sign the damn papers."

He struggles for a few moments, attempting to move away from the wall Hermione's magic had him pinned to. "If I sign the fucking papers will you let me up."

Hermione nods once, the pen scratches against paper, she snatches the document from the wall, and the monster falls to the ground.

"I just have one question for you," Hermione's voice is steady even though it feels like she has lava coursing through her veins, moments from exploding. "Why did you do it? Why did you hurt your own daughter?"

Sick laughter, the kind only heard in horror movies, rings through the air as he dead eyes meet her sparking orbs. "Because I could." He spits at her.

Another flick of her wand has the spit flying back at him. "You disgust me."

He snarls, lunging at her.

"Petrificus Totalus!" The air crackles around him as his frozen body clatters to the ground and she takes a step towards him, looming over his prone figure. "How does it feel to be at the mercy of someone else, to know that you have no control over what happens next?" Hermione raises her wand and fear flares through his eyes, his normally icy gaze melting away to tears. Her wand starts to glow green as she begins to speak, "Ava-." He closes his eyes, it's as close to cowering as he can get while petrified. She lowers her wand and shakes her head. "You're not worth it."

She turns her back on the man that had made her life hell for as long as she could remember as she takes a step toward the people who make up her future knowing that they will always watch her back.

"I'm so proud of you, little cub," Remus whispers in Hermione's ear, hugging her tightly to his chest.

"I don't know if it was because I was too weak to do it or if it was because I was strong enough not to," her voice sounds like she'd swallowed a cup of gravel but she honestly didn't care at this point, she was finally free.

"You know you're going to have to kill people in this war." Her gaze snaps toward the man who had protected her when she'd stopped trying to protect herself, a cold fury much different from the explosion she'd had early flaring through her eyes.

"Murder is different from battle, Sirius." Her voice is cold even to her own ears.

"Will you be able to do it?"

"When it comes to protecting the people I love, our enemies won't stand a chance." Hermione's voice is cold and the murderous glint in her eyes leaves no room for doubt. "Do not underestimate me, Sirius."


	21. Stolen Moments

**It's been a while, I know, and if I'm being honest it probably would've been longer if a review I got for this story a few days ago hadn't pissed me off. School started up again and I just moved in and started classes Tuesday so I honestly didn't have time to write a long chapter but I do like how this one turned out even if I did write it out of anger. Why am I angry? Actually angry isn't the right word. Disgusted is more like it. I am disgusted because I got a review complaining about the Sirius/Remus pairing in this story. But it wasn't just the complaint (which was stupid to begin with because it's not like it was at the beginning when I was still trying to figure out what pairings I wanted in this story so complaints were understandable and I couldn't get irritated at people for having an opinion that I don't agree with but the Sirius/Remus pairing shows on the summary thing, you don't even have to fucking click the story to see it now), what really pissed me off was how immature the route they took was in addressing the pairing. I can handle cussing, I can handle religious views, I can even handle whatever bullshit "science" some people will try to throw at me and respect it because it is an opinion but what I CANNOT stand is someone saying "eww" multiple times and exactly like that in reference to a same sex pairing especially when that same story has a FATHER raping his DAUGHTER. So here is a warning for my readers who might feel the same way which will be going onto my profile for future readers:**

 **Don't read my stories if you don't like same sex pairings or any other aspects of the LGBTQIA community because I can guarantee you that there will be something in every single one of my stories that will piss you off and I honestly don't need those kind of people reading my work. The same goes for anyone who has issue will biracial pairings because they will also be present in many of my stories. The world is changing, I'm not going to say it has changed because it hasn't, and mindless hating is something that I cannot and will not deal with. Diverse couples are everywhere and I'm not going to ignore that fact just because it makes you uncomfortable.**

 **I'm sorry for the rest of you lovely people who have done nothing but support this story from day one because you guys are absolutely amaxing and I love you very much. There are just some things I can't help but get up on a soap box for. Hopefully I got to all of your reviews and you like this chapter.**

 **Love**

 **Adrien**

 **P.S. Did any of y'all take the Pottermore patronus test? I got a salmon and I'm still not sure why...**

 **P.P.S. And sorry for all the errors last chapter, I did most of it on my phone and it's hard for me to check it on that.**

 **To the lovely anonymous reviewers who don't get enough credit:**

 **RANDOMPERSON-I'm sorry you had to wait so long for a new chapter after just finding this story but I'm so glad you like my story and I hope you continue to read. :o)**

 **Lord Slytherin-It definitely is shaping up to be a dark story but I'm really looking forward to seeing how this story ends so you don't have to worry about whether or not I'll be continuing with it because I definitely will. :o)**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own this sandbox in which I love to play. The amazing J. K. Rowling is the only one with that right.**

 **Chpt. 21: Stolen Moments**

His pup walks away and Sirius can't help but feel like he'd said the wrong thing. Glancing over at the irritated look in his lover's eyes and the disappointed face of his godson (who quickly follows Hermione out of the room), he knows that feeling is right. He just hopes he hadn't shattered their relationship beyond repair.

"I fucked up." It's a statement, not a question, and his eyes stare at the door his pup had left through even though he couldn't see her anymore.

"You did." Sirius's head snaps in Remus's direction, surprised at his lover's answer. Remus had always been an optimist, the fact that those words came out of his mouth instead of the reassurance Sirius had been looking for just showed Sirius how much he had messed up. How he really had hurt their daughter and how their daughter came first for Remus just like she came first for Sirius.

"Will she forgive me?"

"I wouldn't blame her if she didn't." He doesn't elaborate even though Sirius wishes more than anything that he would.

"Do you think she will?" Sirius prods.

Anger and love war in his eyes until he finally growls out, "Yes."

"Why?"

"Because she's a lot like you," is all he says before striding out of the room after their daughter.

* * *

Hermione doesn't stop walking after she makes it outside, she keeps walking (running really) down the street and around the corner to the old park that had been her only sanctuary for years. She makes it to the rickety swing set under the old willow tree before her legs give out and she sinks into the closest swing, staring at the hands that rested in her lap. Each of her hands held an object in them and each of those objects were a piece of her future. In her left hand was the ability to finally let go of her past and move on to the future, to actually be a part of her true family. In her right hand was a piece of best friend's past, one of the only pieces of his mother he had left which he'd given to her because he wanted to make sure the two of them had a future together. She'd almost used this wand to cast an Avada tonight. She'd almost disgraced the woman who this wand originally belonged to tonight, the woman who had stepped in front of that very same curse in order to save the love of Hermione's life and her best friend. It was disgusting.

The wands heats up and Hermione jumps, staring down at the piece of wood with wide eyes, and it heats up again like it's trying to tell her that everything is ok because she didn't use the curse.

"Mione." The sound of Harry's voice makes her jump again. "Are you alright, love?" He steps in front of her, squatting down to her eye level.

Her chest warms in sync with the wand in her hand and she gives him a genuine smile. "I really am. I'm finally free, Harry. We're both free."

Harry's emerald eyes widen and a grin stretches across his lips. "We are, aren't we?"

"We are," she laughs, her own smile widening.

"WE'RE FREE!" Harry yells at the top of his lungs as he jumps to his feet and pulls her into his arms, spinning them both around. "I love you," he says, pressing a kiss to her lips as he sets her back on her feet.

"More than anything," she replies when she finally pulls away.

* * *

By the time Sirius managed to find his family, Remus is sitting on a park bench watching Harry push Hermione on one of two swings in an old park most people probably didn't know existed considering how hard it was for Sirius to find (he'd actually had to change into his animagus form to find them).

"Higher, Harry!" Hermione laughs as her unruly curls fly behind her, nearly wacking Harry in the face as she goes by him.

"Any higher and you'll fly off!" Harry's laughter joins hers and Sirius's heart breaks a little bit because he wasn't a part of this moment. He wasn't part of their happiness in this moment. He was actually part of the reason they shouldn't have been as happy as they were right now, he had been a complete arse. But they were happy despite that. They were having the types of moments that they should've had their entire lives but didn't because fate had worked against them. Instead of growing bitter and paranoid like Sirius (and Remus to a point) had though, they decided to find joy in each other. They stole moments of happiness to hold them through the sea of darkness they had known their entire lives until they had met one another. They were so much stronger than anyone gave them credit for, than anyone would probably ever know if Sirius was being honest with himself.

He didn't want to break up the moment but they really needed to go. They still needed to get the things Hermione wanted from her old house and turn in the paperwork before the adoption agency office closed for the night.


	22. Damage Control

**(To those of you who also read MD, this first bit's going to look really familiar to you and I apologize for that but I'm tired and I've got to get up early for observation tomorrow.) Thank you so much to all of those who voted for Marauder's Daughter for Best Work in Progress in the Shrieking Shack Society's 2016 Marauder Medals! And for those of you who didn't, I honestly don't hold it against you. Voting was confusing as fuck and, to be honest, my unsavyily (I don't think that is a word but whatever.) tech self didn't even vote because I got irritated with electronics. Either way I appreciate you guys so much and I love you for sticking around even though I disappear for months at a time so here's the chapter I promised you guys, I hope you like it.**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **P.S. I'm sorry this is later than planned, I had it done hours ago but it took a few more hours to reply to all the reviews for Marauder's Daughter. I know I haven't replied to you guys yet but I promise I'll do that as soon as I get home from observing tomorrow. I just wanted to post this chapter because you guys are amazing and you more than deserve a new chapter. I hope you like it and I can't wait to respond to your reviews tomorrow.**

 **And to all my amazing anonymous reveiwers:**

 **I promise to update this chapter tomorrow (or later today I guess) with all your responses. Thank you so much for your reviews.**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own this sandbox in which I love to play. The amazing J. K. Rowling is the only one with that right.**

 **Chpt. 22: Damage Control**

"I love you," Harry murmurs, running his fingers through Hermione's hair as they laid in her bed and tried to fall asleep.

Hermione chuckles tiredly and looks up at her best friend. "And I love you but if you keep talking we're never going to get to sleep."

Harry grins, his emerald eyes sparkling with mischief. "And what if I don't want to sleep?"

"Well then it sucks for you because I'm going to sleep, it's been a long day and I'm tired," Hermione replies and lays her head back on her boyfriend's chest.

"I could always keep you up by force." He raises one hand and wiggles his fingers like he's going to tickle her.

"And I could always tell my Dad on you," Hermione mumbles, half asleep.

"Fair point. Goodnight, love."

"Night."

* * *

Sirius Black sighs and leans back heavily on his pup's door after having unintentionally ease dropped on her conversation with his godson. He'd meant to talk to her tonight. To ask her to forgive him. But he didn't have the heart to once he'd heard that she wasn't alone in the room. What's even worse is that his first instinct at hearing that she wasn't alone in the room was to get angry that Harry had slipped into her room without asking either of the adults if it was ok for them to share a bed. Then he'd felt a crushing guilt because he knew they needed each other and hearing how innocent their conversation was just cemented that as well as the fact that he felt extremely guilty for not trusting these kids to know what was best for them when, in reality, they'd been forced to grow up faster than even him or Moony or Prongs had been forced to. Then he'd felt a searing jealousy because his cub had slipped up and call Moony Dad when that's what she should have been calling him.

A throat clearing draws his attention to his lover who is holding his hand out to Sirius.

"Let's get to bed, you can talk to our cub in the morning," Remus states firmly though the gentle smile on his face and the love in his eyes softens his words.

* * *

"Knock, knock." The voice coming from the doorway makes Hermione jump and accidentally drop the book she had just pulled off the shelf in the library before turning to see who was in the doorway as she picked the book up from the ground.

"Pulling a page from D-Professor Lupin's book I see." She avoids eye contact with Sirius when she stutters by moving to the table she'd commandeered in the Black Library.

"You can call him Dad you know, it is official and I know he already loves you as his own. He would really enjoy it if Yu called him that."

Hermione nods and bites her lips but still avoids eye contact. "There was something you wanted to talk about."

"I just wanted to apologize for what I said yesterday, it was uncalled for."

"It's ok, I understand where you were coming from. You were just trying to protect me. I know that you didn't mean to hurt me."

"But I never should have hurt you to begin with. I have never wanted to hurt you and I never want to again. I'm the adult, I'm supposed to be the mature one. I just… I love you so much and—"

Sirius stumbles as Hermione throws herself at him, hugging him as tightly s she possibly can. "I love you too and I forgive you, Dad."


	23. Eggs and Eavesdropping

**It's been a while I know but I had to post for Valentine's Day since it's my second favorite holiday! Happy Valentine's Day! I hope y'all are having a fantastic day and that you know that you are loved wherever you are in the world.**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **P.S. I just realized that I never replied to my amazing anonymous reviewers in the last chapter and I am so sorry for that. I really appreciate you guys and I hope you all know that. I'm also sorry for not replying this chapter. I know I haven't replied to anybody for last chapter yet and I'm sorry but I don't have time to tonight. I promise to reply to everyone tomorrow though.**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own this sandbox in which I love to play. The amazing J. K. Rowling is the only one with that right.**

 **Chpt. 23: Eggs and Eavesdropping**

Snuffles grins toothily at both of his pups as their friends tackle them the moment they step into the Great Hall, Harry and Hermione's names mashing together until Sirius couldn't tell which of their friends was saying which name or asking which question. He watches as all of their worries disappear and, for a moment, his two pups are the children they had somehow missed out on being because of the households they were raised in. In that moment, Sirius made it his goal to bring those looks to their faces as much as he possibly could. He knew he couldn't completely unburden them because their abuse had scarred them no matter how much they tried to pretend it didn't and no matter how much both Sirius and Remus wished it hadn't.

What he could do was protect them from the burdens that were sure to attempt to settle on their shoulders in the future. Starting with figuring out how Harry's name had ended up in the Goblet and helping Gringotts figure out exactly what had been going on since Prongs and Lilly had died. Not to mention, he still needed to help Harry and Hermione figure out what exactly the egg's sadistic little song meant for their family...though he knew his cubs knew more about it than they were sharing with him and Moony…

Flashback

Sirius really needed to stop listening in on his cubs, it really wasn't healthy for his relationship with either of them, but he just couldn't help it.

"Hermione," his ears perked up at that, his Godson rarely ever called his cub by her full name and the only times he did were when he was being completely serious (no pun intended). "I'm not willing to risk it. If it means losing my magic, so be it."

Hermione sighs like this is a conversation they'd had a thousand times over. "It's not something worth losing your magic over, Harry, and that is the only way you'd get out of it. You can do this, Harry, I believe in you. I have always and I will always believe you."

"People die in the competition, Hermione, and-" Harry is cut off and Sirius doesn't want to imagine what's going on behind that door right now.

"I trust you, Harry. With my life," his cub whispers barely loud enough for Sirius's sensitive ears to pick up from behind the door.

Flashback Over

Even though both teens felt safer with he and Moony than they did with any other adult in the world, Harry and Hermione still only trusted each other when it came down to it and that was something that Sirius was determined to change.

* * *

"You'll speak with Nev and Viktor tonight?" Hermione asks her best friend as they walk down a quiet corridor hand in hand.

Harry nods, "Hopefully Nev can help us out. You're talking to Gin and Lu right?"

"Yeah, we were planning on having a sleepover tonight anyway so I thought I'd just use the opportunity to warn them. They deserve to know that they could very well be taken to the bottom of that damn lake for this idiotic competition." A muted thump catches Hermione's attention

"Only two more tasks, love, then-," Hermione places her hand over her boyfriend's mouth and tilts her head to the side, listening again for the noise. The sound of glass shattering comes from the same direction and Hermione takes off in a sprint, palming her wand as she goes so she's ready for anything.

"Three more years and then you're free, just three more years," the sound of Malfoy's voice makes her freeze outside the door and even though she knows it's wrong, she leans in to listen. "God you're pathetic," he sobs, his hands smack against something.

Hermione slowly pushes the door open as she slips her wand back into her pocket. "You're not pathetic, Draco," Hermione's voice is soft and understanding as her gaze takes in the broken boy in front of her whose chest and back are covered in scars.

"What are you doing here, Granger?!" he yells, wincing when the small of his back hits the edge of the sink because he tries to back away from her.

"I just heard the glass break and I wanted to make sure you were ok," she explains, keeping her voice and gaze soft. "Do you want me to heal those for you?" She gestures toward the newer marks on his chest much like the one he'd hit against the sink and winced from.

"I don't need your help," he growls, snatching his shirt from the floor and shoving his arms through the holes.

"Well, I going to help you anyway," she replies.

Draco freezes, his steely gaze searching her molten chocolate orbs for any sign of deceit. His entire stature relaxes when he finds none, his fingers dropping from his half buttoned shirt. "Why?"

"Because I know what it's like to fear the people you're supposed to trust the most," she replies, untucking her shirt and pulling it up just enough for him to see the handprint shaped bruises on her hips that had yet to completely fade.

"Granger-" he begins but she cuts him off:

"But I'm safe now and you will be too."

* * *

Sirius was beginning to worry about his pups. He'd barely seen them in the past few days and when he did, it was normally when they collapsed into bed right at or (usually after) curfew. They needed to be focusing on the tournament right now but their minds seemed to be elsewhere. He was planning to confront the young couple if they didn't come to either him or Moony soon.

"Dad! Dad!"

"Moony, Padfoot!"

The two voices mesh together, filling the room moments before Harry and Hermione burst into the room with wide smiles on their faces.

"Whoa there, what's going on?" Remus rises from the couch, placing a hand on each of their shoulders and leading them further into the room so that the four of the, could talk like normal people.

"We figured out how to do it," Hermione gasps, completely out of breath.

"We figured out how to save Draco," Harry is just as out of breath but both teens have bigger smiles on their faces than Sirius can ever remember seeing before.

"What do you mean?" he asks at the same time Moony asks, "Why does Draco Malfoy need saving?"


	24. Realizations

**I know I didn't reply to any of your reviews but I honestly can't remember who I replied to anymore or if I replied to anyone and y'all deserved a new chapter. I'll start replying again for the next chapter, I've been feeling a lot better lately so I've been getting a bit more done. I hope y'all enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it, it definitely gives our characters a new depth and it's a major turning point. Thank you so much for sticking with me guys! I appreciate it so much!**

 **Love,**

 **Adrien**

 **P.S. I also added a bit to the last chapter, I realized that I ended with Hermione's section when I was supposed to end in Sirius's so there's another baby section there y'all should read.**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own this sandbox in which I love to play. The amazing J. K. Rowling is the only one with that right.**

Chpt. 24: Realizations

"How are we going to do it?" Harry whispers to Hermione as they lay in his bed late that night, both of them to trapped in their own thoughts to sleep. Both teens thinking about all the hours they had wasted on searching for a way to save Draco when they could have had the answer within seconds had they just asked Sirius. As the original heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Black, he already knew all the powers associated with it. He already knew that he could claim Draco as his heir since he was the only child currently alive of Black blood (since Andy had been disowned and Bellatrix hadn't had any children), effectively adopting him before disowning Narcissa and cutting Draco of any ties he has to the Malfoy line. They just had to prove that Sirius was innocent first.

"I don't know," she whispers back, a tear slipping from her eyes. She hated not knowing, not having any idea how to figure something out. Her brain had been the only thing she could rely on for years and the fact that she couldn't figure this out broke her heart. Her brain had protected her from the memories of what happened to her as a child, her brain had helped save both her life and the life of her soul mate, her brain had helped keep her alive in that horrible house and it had lead to her escape from that same horror. The fact that it couldn't help her now terrified her.

"We'll figure this out together. You aren't alone anymore, love. We aren't alone. And we never will be again." He'd said it to her before, multiple times, but this is the first time she thinks that maybe he's right. This is the first time she actually believes the words coming out of his mouth. Maybe it was because he actually sounded like he believed himself this time instead of it sounding like he was trying to convince himself as well as her. Maybe he had changed. Or maybe she was finally willing to accept the words as they were. Maybe she was the one who had changed.

"I love you, Harry." It was the only thing she knew for certain at this point.

"More than anything, Hermione." And she believed him like she always had.

* * *

"How are we going to do it?" Sirius asks his lover as they lay in their bed, a mirror image of the two kids who mean the world to them many floors above them in the castle.

"I don't know," Moony rumbles, the soft growl in his chest makes Sirius look up at the other man's face. A tear had leaked out of his eye and, as he wiped the small droplet away, he knew that his lover still had the same issue he always had. Not knowing how to help the people who loved him, who he would give his life for, still broke his heart. Just like it had when they were kids and the war first started. His brain is what had protected him from the prejudice thrown his way from the moment he was changed as a child, his brain is what had saved his life and lives of his friends who had become his family multiple times in the war, his brain is what gave him freedom when his condition constricted him. The fact that it couldn't help him now probably terrified him.

"We'll do this together like we always have, Moony. I may not be able to hold your back a smoothly as Lils but I will be there just like you have always been there for me. Even when I put my neck out without thinking." Sirius didn't know where the words came from but as soon as they came out of his mouth, he knew them to be true. They were in this together, no matter what.

"I love you, Sirius."

"Always, Remus."

* * *

"How are we going to do this?" Hermione asks, her voice as unwavering as her gaze as she grips Harry's hand on the worn out couch in her Dad's quarters with the two adults across from them.

"I don't know," her Dad admits, his voice just as even. "But we can figure it out together."

Hermione shares a quickly look with her best friend before Harry speaks their next piece. "If we're going to do this together, I think there's some things you ought to know."

"I think there's some things we've got to share with you two as well, pup," Sirius replies and all the tension that had been present from the moment the two teens had entered the room completely disappeared.


End file.
